In a battle that has stretched across courtrooms and years, Johnson & Johnson’s DePuy Synthes told a Delaware federal judge Monday that a jury got it wrong when it ordered the company to pay $12 million to RSB Spine for infringing spinal fusion patents under the doctrine of equivalents.
Both companies landed back in court with dueling post-trial motions, each side trying to tilt the scales of justice one final time. DePuy insists it never violated the patents; RSB Spine argues the opposite—and says it’s owed even more money for sales made after the jury reached its verdict.
A Verdict Interrupted
The dispute stems from a December 2022 win for RSB Spine. But before judgment could be entered, U.S. District Judge Richard G. Andrews held a separate bench trial to evaluate DePuy’s argument that it, not RSB, developed the surgical technology first. The judge rejected that claim in August, clearing the path for this latest round of legal fire.
Though jurors ruled DePuy did not commit direct infringement, they concluded the company stepped over the line under the doctrine of equivalents. Monday’s filings focused on only one of the two patents involved.
