Update April 2010: The court denied Philips motion to reconsider and responded to Philips’ argument that it could not make its patent misuse defense without discovery on the antitrust claims by bifurcating and staying discovery on Philips patent misuse as well.
Update March 2010: The court has agreed to postpone consideration of Philips antitrust counterclaims pending resolution of the patent infringement litigation. The court expressed the view that the antitrust issues would likely confuse the jury in what will already be a very challenging patent infringement trial involving numerous patents. Moreover, the resolution of the infringement claims may simply or eliminate the need for trying the antitrust claims.
In the District of Delaware, Maximo Corp. filed a suit alleging that Philips has infringed patents on pulse oximeters — monitors that measure oxygen in the blood through sensors attached to the hands or feet. Philips claims that Masimo, which currently controls about 80% of the market, has sought to monopolize the market by enforcing invalid patents and employing a proprietary system with no legitimate purpose. Philips has also alleged that Masimo’s policy of providing free pulse oximeters to hospitals in exchange for contracts to purchase cables and senors only from Maximo constitutes illegal tying.