Friday, September 16, 2011

Palomar settles patent suit with Syneron, Candela

By Michelle Lang

Palomar Medical Technologies Inc., a laser cosmetic treatment maker in Burlington, has settled a patent infringement dispute with Israeli aesthetic device maker Syneron Medical Ltd., with Palomar collecting $31 million from the settlement. The lawsuit has also resulted in Palomar issuing two non-exclusive patent license agreements to Syneron and Candela Corp., a Wayland company acquired by Syneron in 2010.

The first agreement calls for Candela and Syneron to gain those licenses to Palomar’s laser-based and lamp-based hair removal systems. In exchange, Palomar will receive a $31 million payment and royalty-free license to particular patents by Candela.

The second agreement calls for Syneron and certain affiliates to gain non-exclusive licenses to Palomar’s consumer home-use lamp-based hair removal products. In exchange, Palomar will be paid royalties on Syneron’s sales of the products and the Burlington firm will also get a royalty-free license to particular Syneron and Candela patents.

A licensing deal between Palomar and General Hospital Corp. means that Palomar will give General Hospital 40 percent of its payments from Syneron and Candela, not including the repayment for legal costs.

In June 2009, Palomar became the first company to receive clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to market over the counter a new home-use, laser device for the treatment of periorbital wrinkles that it had developed in conjunction with Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies Inc.

Johnson & Johnson terminated the deal, and in October of 2009 Palomar said it would continue to market the device on its own.

Palomar and Candela previously butted heads in a 2008 lawsuit that decided in favor of Palomar, ruling that the Burlington company’s laser treatment products do not infringe on a Candela patent, and four claims at issue in the patent were ruled invalid because of prior art.