Tyco, J&J; Settlement Resolves Patent Disputes

Tyco International Ltd. and Johnson & Johnson agreed to settle a 10-year-old patent dispute between the companies’ medical device subsidiaries. The settlement enables Tyco’s U.S. Surgical Corp. and Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon Endo-Surgery Inc. to compete in the surgical instrument market without fighting more patent battles. “Both companies felt it was in their best interest to resolve their differences, put the litigation behind them, and compete in the marketplace,” said Johnson & Johnson spokesman Jeffrey J. Leebaw. The settlement resolves three separate patent infringement suits between Cincinnati-based Ethicon and U.S. Surgical, based in Norwalk, Conn., over certain surgical instruments they manufacture and sell. It also covers all other products both companies currently have on the market. Shares of Tyco, based in Hamilton, Bermuda, rose 13 cents to close at $71.78, while Johnson & Johnson, based in New Brunswick, N.J., rose 63 cents to close at $94.13, both on the NYSE.