Insulet awarded $450M from federal jury in intellectual property dispute with Korean firm
Photo | Courtesy of Insulet
Insulet's Omnipod on a patient's arm
Insulet, an Acton medical device manufacturer, has been awarded $452 million in total damages as a federal jury has found South Korean-based competitor EOFlow guilty for misappropriating Insulet trade secrets.
Tuesday’s guilty verdict followed a four-week trial in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts in which the jury determined EOFlow and several other defendants stole Insulet intellectual property regarding the company’s Omnipod insulin pump technology, according to a Wednesday press release from Insulet.
Insulet originally filed the lawsuit of misappropriation and infringement of intellectual property rights and unfair competition on Aug. 3, 2023. The suit claimed EOFlow was able to acquire patented components of its Omnipod products by entering into a joint development and collaboration contract with the primary manufacturer of Insulet’s Omnipod products, Singapore-based Flex Ltd., according to the court documents.
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Insulet claimed EOFlow was then able to misappropriate the product’s trade secrets and manufacturing process in order to redevelop the manufacturer’s EOPatch, which Insulet said looked and functioned strikingly similar to its Omnipod product.
The jury awarded Insulet $170 million in compensatory damages and $282 million in exemplary damages for willful and malicious misappropriation. EOFlow’s ability to pay the awarded damages is not known at this time, according to the release.
EOFlow did not immediately return WBJ’s request for comment.
"We are extremely pleased with the jury’s verdict, which validates our commitment to protecting our technology and defending our intellectual property against misappropriation and infringement," Jim Hollingshead, Insulet president and CEO, said in the release. "We will not only enforce our patents, but also zealously protect our valuable trade secrets, in which we’ve invested heavily to improve the lives of people with diabetes."
Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare and diversity, equity, and inclusion industries.
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