Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP - Jury Awards Applied Medical

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 1, 2004

CONTACT:
Sara McKibben
949-721-2941
Sara.McKibben@kmob.com

Jury Awards Applied Medical $43.5 Million for Patent Infringement

Irvine, CA, July 29, 2004 - Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear is pleased to announce that an Orange County jury has awarded its client, Applied Medical Resources Corp., $43.5 million because Tyco Unit U.S. Surgical Corporation had infringed Applied's patent. The patent was on a medical device known as a trocar. The jury also found that the infringement was willful, allowing U.S. District Court Judge Cormac Carney to triple the damages and to award Applied its attorney fees. He has set a September 20, 2004 hearing to decide those issues.

The trocar is used by surgeons to perform laparoscopic surgery. During this procedure, surgeons inflate the abdomen with gas to create a working space. They then insert trocars through which they use various instruments to perform the surgery. Applied's patent is on the sealing mechanism in the trocar which maintains the gas in the abdomen. Applied filed suit in Orange County in 1999. In 1997, Applied had convinced a Virginia jury that U.S. Surgical had willfully infringed the same patent by selling an earlier version of the same product at issue in the Orange County case.

Joseph Re, lead trial attorney for Applied and a litigation partner with Knobbe Martens commented, "Obviously, we are delighted the jury found willful infringement giving the court the discretion to enhance the damages. It is a pleasure to once again lead an all-Knobbe team at trial." Last March, Mr. Re led another trial team of Knobbe lawyers in convincing a Los Angeles jury to award Masimo Corp. of Irvine Ca. $134.5 million because another Tyco Unit, Nellcor Puritan-Bennett, had been infringing patents on another medical device, a pulse oximeter.

With over 160 attorneys throughout California, Knobbe, Martens, Olson & Bear, LLP represents clients in all areas of intellectual property law and litigation. Clients include public and private companies at various stages of growth, from start-up to the Fortune 500. Founded in 1962, the firm is one of the largest intellectual property law firms in the United States.