IP licensing company must pay Medtronic’s legal fees

The US District Court for the District of Delaware has ordered IP licensing companyOrthophoenix to pay medical device maker Medtronic’s legal fees in a patent dispute between Orthophoenix and Stryker, a medical technology company.

Ordered on Tuesday, March 28, the court’s ruling said that Orthophoenix must pay a total sum of $572,430.

In April 2013, Medtronic assigned patents to Orthophoenix in an agreement where Orthophoenix would “provide counsel to Medtronic to defend… [and] pay for reasonable expenses of such counsel and such claim”, unless a dispute arose from Medtronic’s own action.

The case arose back in October 2013 when Orthophoenix sued Stryker for infringing patents which had been assigned by Medtronic.

Although Medtronic was not a party to the case, Stryker sought discovery from Medtronic, which resulted in Medtronic seeking indemnification from Orthophoenix.

Orthophoenix’s litigation counsel said that the company would not indemnify Medtronic.

But the district court confirmed that the agreement between Medtronic and Orthophoenix obliges Orthophoenix to pay Medtronic’s legal fees.