Retractable Techs, Inc. v. Becton Dickinson & Co.

Retractable sued, alleging that Becton’s 1 mL and 3 mL IntegraTM syringes infringed claims of Retractable’s patents. Becton had commercially launched its 3 mL syringe in 2002 and the 1 mL syringe in 2003. At trial, Retractable argued that infringement began in 2000 and that a hypothetical negotiation then would have resulted in a lump sum payment of $72 million for a 10-year license. Becton countered with a lost profits theory that would limit recovery to about $5 million based on the sales of the syringes, or, alternatively, that a reasonable royalty would have been no more than $3 million.. The jury found that both syringes infringed and that reasonable royalty damages were $5,000,000. The district court entered judgment in Retractable’s favor and a permanent injunction against the continued sale of both syringes. Becton appealed the infringement and validity determinations but neither appealed nor requested a remand of the damages determination. The Federal Circuit concluded that the district court misconstrued one claim term and that the 3 mL syringe did not infringe; no remand was ordered. Becton requested the district court to modify the injunction and the damages award in light of the decision, citing Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b)(5). Retractable consented to modification of the injunction to exclude the 3 mL syringe. The district court concluded that the mandate rule precluded it from revisiting damages because the award was within the scope of the original judgment and was not raised in the prior appeal nor remanded. The Federal Circuit affirmed. View "Retractable Techs, Inc. v. Becton Dickinson & Co." on Justia Law