In A Twist, Infringement Claims Bolster $113 Million Antitrust Case

A federal court in Texas awarded $113 million to patent-holder Retractable Technologies for anti-competitive behavior of much-larger rival company, Becton Dickinson. Retractable’s patent is for a syringe, and the company claimed that BD flooded the market with their own retractable syringes that had a known design flaw, thereby tainting the market for all retractable syringes. BD lead counsel from Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison argued that patent infringement can’t be an element of anti-competitive conduct, but the district court judge disagreed