Supreme Court rejects Covidien bid to restore patent verdict against Ethicon

Reuters
A view of the U.S. Supreme Court building is seen in Washington, October 13, 2015. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal by Covidien LP seeking to restore a $176 million patent infringement verdict against Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Ethicon Inc. In refusing to hear the case, the high court left in place a December 2014 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit that threw out a judge’s finding that Ethicon had infringed upon Covidien's patents for surgical cutting tools. Covidien is owned by Medtronic Plc. (Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Will Dunham)