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Intuitive Surgical and Computer Motion Merge to Create Concentrated Robotics Play

Tired of fighting each other in court, the two leading robotics companies have decided to render their IP differences moot through a merger.

For many companies trying to get innovative technology accepted in the marketplace, intellectual property becomes a critical battleground. But when it becomes the primary battleground, IP litigation can divert and distort the companies from their main goal: gaining adoption for their technology. That, at least, is what happened in surgical robotics, a highly promising, but to date poorly penetrated innovation. And now, tired of fighting each other in court, the two leading robotics companies, Sunnyvale, CA-based Intuitive Surgical Inc. and Santa Barbara, CA-based Computer Motion Inc. , have decided to render their IP differences moot through a merger of the two companies [See Deal].

Discussing the deal, Lonnie Smith, Intuitive's CEO who will run the combined company, noted that "Clearly, we were both pouring...

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