SonoSite sued by GE over patents

General Electric Co., the world's biggest maker of medical-imaging equipment, sued Bothell-based SonoSite, accusing the rival maker of ultrasound machines of infringing five patents.

SonoSite's MicroMaxx and Titan brand ultrasound systems are among products that use GE's inventions without permission, GE said in a complaint filed May 15 in federal court in Madison, Wisconsin. GE asked the court to award cash compensation and issue an order blocking SonoSite from using the technology.

GE had about $1.6 billion in ultrasound sales in 2006, according to a Nov. 30 presentation by the company's GE Healthcare unit. The company had about 26 percent of the $5.3 billion global market for ultrasound machines in 2005, with SonoSite garnering 3 percent, according to the presentation.

The technology covers methods for displaying blood flow on ultrasound monitors and ways of wirelessly transmitting data, according to the complaint.

Sonosite said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it "is currently analyzing the validity of these allegations."

The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, which ranked first among the most favorable places for patent lawsuits from 1995 to 2006 in a PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP study this year.

SonoSite shares were down $1.04 to $29.96 an hour before the close on Nasdaq. They've fallen 16 percent in the past year, leaving the company with a market value of $509.7 million.