Intuitive Surgical/IBM

Companies jointly file suit against Computer Motion, Inc. in Wilmington, Delaware federal court, Intuitive announces April 4. Complaint alleges that CMI willfully infringed U.S. Patent No. 6,201,984 in developing the Aesop, Zeus and Hermes voice-controlled products. Issued to IBM on March 13, the '984 patent is exclusively licensed to Intuitive for use with the company's da Vinci surgical system and EndoWrist instruments, Intuitive says