6 Mark Racanelli NEW YORK Partner +1 212 326 4403 mracanelli@omm.com Sergei Zaslavsky WASHINGTON, DC Partner +1 202 383 5162 szaslavsky@omm.com Tying O’Melveny obtained a complete victory for our client Bard in a threeweek jury trial in the Northern District of New York. Bard designed a vascular PICC catheter that included technology that acted as a “GPS” to help nurses place the PICC safely next to the patient’s heart. Bard’s competitor, AngioDynamics, claimed that Bard’s decision to design and sell the technology only integrated in its catheters, and not as a standalone product that could be combined with competitors’ catheters, was an illegal tie, violating Sherman Act Section 1. AngioDynamics sought an injunction to force Bard to sell the technology part of the PICC as a standalone product, as well as $135 million in damages (before trebling). Claims Trial and Outcome What Was at Stake Why It Matters This case addressed whether a successful business must help its less successful rivals catch up (either by supplying products directly to them or making the products interoperable with rivals’ offerings) or whether such freeriding is not part of healthy competition. Many of today’s leading industries—including technology platforms, consumer electronics, and virtually any business where product integration offers tangible benefits—face these critical issues.
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