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news.CooperVision, the contact lens unit of The Cooper Companies, has reached a global settlement agreement with CIBA Vision, the eye care unit of Novartis, that resolves all disputes with respect to current patent infringement litigation between the companies. Specific terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
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CooperVision had alleged that CIBA Vision infringed patented technologies relating to the edge design and rotational stabilization of contact lenses while CIBA Vision alleged that CooperVision infringed patented technologies relating to silicone hydrogel contact lenses.
Under the terms of the settlement, the companies have agreed to cross license rights to these patents, as well as certain other patent rights. This settlement includes CooperVision paying a royalty on its net US contact lens sales of Biofinity until 2014 and on net sales outside of the US until 2016.
Robert Weiss, Cooper’s CEO, said: “We are pleased with this agreement. It allows us to focus on meeting the needs of eye care professionals and consumers by eliminating the distraction of litigation. We expect this settlement to be accretive in FY 2008 when comparing anticipated royalty payments versus the potential costs of continued litigation.”