by  Mel R. Quintos

MAY YOU ALL CONTINUE TO HAVE A JOYFUL SUMMER!

In HAEMONETICS CORP. v. BAXTER HEALTHCARE CORP. and FENWAL, INC., the jury in the district court awarded the owner of U.S. Patent No. 6,705,983, Haemonetics, with $15.6 million for lost profits and royalty damages plus “10% royalty on sales of the infringing kits made after the jury verdict of infringement.” However, in June 2, 2010, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) reversed the district court’s interpretation of the term “centrifugal unit” in claim 16 of U.S. Patent No. 6,705,983 favoring Baxter and Fenwal, the alleged infringers, and vacated the jury’s multi-million dollar verdict

Figure 1 of the patent illustrates the claimed centrifugal unit.

The patent describes a centrifugal device that includes: a vessel 2 in which blood components are separated, and tubes 4a, 5a, 6a (enclosed within tube 9) through which blood flows in and out of the vessel 2.–click here to read more—