ResMed buries the hatchet with China’s BMC Medical

ResMed (NYSE:RMD) and China’s BMC Medical agreed to bury the hatchet, saying last week that their agreement puts to bed all of the long-simmering litigation between the sleep apnea device makers.

The patent infringement disputes date back at least to June 2013, when ResMed filed a lawsuit against BMC and its U.S. distributor, 3B Medical. That case involved patents covering continuous positive airway pressure devices, a nasal mask and a nasal pillow interface. Both sides claimed wins the following year when the International Trade Commission issued a mixed ruling, finding that 9 of BMC’s products each violated at least 1 of ResMed’s patents but invalidating others.

The spat devolved into a flurry of counter-accusations in April of last year, with each side claiming the upper hand. The next month the ITC granted ResMed’s request for a probe into BMC Medical’s Lunaflow and RESmart flow generators. The 5-year deal announced Jan. 20 resolves all the ITC cases, plus lawsuits in Florida, California, China and Germany and validity challenges in various jurisdictions worldwide, the companies said.

The deal calls for BMC and 3B to fork over royalties on sales of their existing products and for ResMed to make a 1-time payment to settle the Florida lawsuit. Neither side made any admission of wrongdoing, they said.

“We are pleased to bring our litigation with BMC and 3B to a resolution and to have our intellectual property and patents recognized through this settlement,” ResMed general counsel David Pendarvis said in prepared remarks. “For 28 years, ResMed has stood strong in its commitment to innovate and develop products and solutions that exceed the needs of our [home medical equipment] customers and the patients we serve together. This agreement allows us to continue the important work we are doing for the patients and providers who count on us to provide the best products for treating the world’s most serious respiratory conditions. And it allows us to avoid the distraction and ongoing expense of continued litigation.”

“BMC continues to develop its own portfolio of intellectual property as 1 of the global manufacturers in the sleep-disordered breathing market. We continue to fund research and development and bring new products to market. This agreement brings a very long battle with ResMed to a final conclusion and allows all of our companies to focus on developing great products to service the needs of our patients,” added BMC GM James Xu.

“We are equally pleased to bring global litigation with ResMed to a resolution. The settlement allows 3B Medical to innovate and provide alternative solutions to the sleep-disordered breathing marketplace,” 3B EVP Alex Lucio said.

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