Intellectual property attorney Christopher Banys, who leads The Lanier Law Firm's office in Palo Alto, served as lead counsel for Dr. Chirife in the lawsuit and settlement negotiations.
"We are very happy to have resolved this case on behalf of Dr. Chirife," says Mr. Banys. "Like a lot of inventors, he found himself in the unenviable position of believing his patented technology was being used by a major company without permission or payment. That's exactly the type of work we handle, and this settlement is a welcome conclusion to his case."
Mr. Banys filed the original lawsuit on behalf of Dr. Chirife in December 2008 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. The lawsuit claimed that St. Jude Medical violated a patent owned by Dr. Chirife (U.S. Patent No. 5,179,949), which covers technology used to optimize the operation of pacemakers. The lawsuit also included allegations of trade secret misappropriation, breach of contract, fraud and unjust enrichment.
Dr. Chirife had engaged in discussions with St. Jude Medical regarding his patented technology and trade secrets under a non-disclosure agreement in 2003. But, the lawsuit alleged, St. Jude Medical went on to produce its own pacemakers using Dr. Chirife's patented technology without permission or paying a proper licensing fee.
The Lanier Law Firm represents companies and individual inventors in a variety of intellectual property cases. The firm is one of the few U.S. law firms that helps inventors protect their intellectual property by completely funding cases against patent infringers. Currently, Mr. Banys and other attorneys in the firm's Intellectual Property Group are pursing intellectual property claims against such well-known corporate defendants as video-game giant Nintendo and computing powerhouse Apple.
With offices in Los Angeles, Palo Alto, Houston and New York, The Lanier Law Firm is committed to addressing client concerns with effective and innovative solutions in courtrooms across the country. The firm is composed of outstanding trial attorneys with decades of experience handling cases involving pharmaceutical liability, asbestos exposure, intellectual property, business litigation, product liability, toxic exposure and maritime law.
For more information, please contact J.D. Cargill at 713-659-5200.
