Smith & Nephew Settles Patent Suit

Smith & Nephew, which has extensive operations in Memphis, recently settled its patent suit against Synthes, Inc. over patents related to surgical nails. The terms of the settlement are not known. However, we do know that Smith & Nephew obtained a ruling from a federal district judge that Synthes had violated Smith & Nephew's patents. So it would seem logical that Smith & Nephew settled with Synthes whereby Smith & Nephew gets royalty payments of some type and Synthes gets a license to continue selling its product. This appears to be great for Smith & Nephew. What's good for them is good for Memphis.