Nellcor Puritan Bennett, Inc. v. Masimo Corp.

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION RE: Masimo’s Motion for Summary Judgment of Noninfringement of U.S. Patent 4,934,372

Background

Plaintiffs Nellcor Puritan Bennett, Inc. and Mallinckrodt, Inc. (collectively “Nell-cor”) and Defendant Masimo Corporation (“Masimo”) are engaged in manufacturing and selling equipment used in pulse oxime-try. Pulse oximetry involves measuring a patient’s heart and lung function via a noninvasive procedure that calculates pulse and arterial blood oxygen saturation. A pulse-oximeter includes a photo-emitter that sends light through a patient’s tissue, a photodetector that measures the light transmitted through the tissue, and a monitor that computes the patient’s blood oxygen saturation from the measured data.

Nellcor alleges that Masimo infringes U.S. Patent No. 4,934,372 (the “ ’372 patent”). Nellcor attempted to assert this patent in another case before this Court, Mallinckrodt, Inc. et al. v. Masimo Corp. (CV-00-6506) (“the Consolidated Cases”). On July 15, 2002, this Court denied Nellcor leave to add the alleged infringement of the ’372 patent to its Complaint in the Consolidated Cases. In this action, Nell-cor asserts the infringement claims relating to…