ATL loses appeal on SRI lawsuit

ATL Ultrasound announced last month that the U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court decision in the patent litigation filed against the Bothell, WA-based vendor by SRI International. ATL does not plan to appeal further, which brings the case to a close. The company has already set aside $37.1 million in prior financial periods to cover the full cost of the judgment, which was awarded in 1996 (SCAN 6/5/96). SRI filed the suit in 1991, charging ATL with violating a patent SRI received in 1977 for tracking filter circuits used in ATL's Ultramark 4, Ultramark 5, and ADR 4000 ultrasound scanners, all of which have been discontinued. The relevant patent expired in 1994, according to ATL.