DePuy Synthes prevails in patent royalty dispute brought by surgeon

Client(s) Johnson & Johnson

Jones Day represented Johnson & Johnson subsidiary DePuy Synthes ("DePuy") in a three-day arbitration hearing to resolve a patent royalty dispute brought by Jordan Consulting seeking more than $6.5 million in damages for breach of a product development agreement relating to DePuy's flagship posterior cervical spinal implant system, Mountaineer. Jordan asserted that the Mountaineer system was covered by the claims of several patents developed under the agreement, entitling Jordan to patent-based royalties on the system. DePuy counterclaimed that its royalty obligations had ceased pursuant to the terms of the agreement. The award was a complete victory for DePuy, with the arbitrator ruling against Jordan on all claims and in DePuy's favor on the counterclaim. Thereafter, Jordan filed a motion in the District of Massachusetts seeking to vacate the award and remand the case back to the arbitrator. That motion was summarily denied, cementing DePuy's victory.

Jordan Consulting et al. v. DePuy Spine, LLC, No. 1-17-cv-12118 (D. Mass.); AAA Case No. 01-14-0001-8806