By Keith Goldberg

Law360, New York (December 15, 2011, 1:22 PM ET) -- Johnson & Johnson unit Ethicon Endo-Surgery Inc. sued Covidien PLC in Ohio federal court on Wednesday, claiming the global health care product giant's soon-to-be-launched ultrasonic dissection surgical tool infringes one of its patents.

EES claims that Covidien's Sonicision Cordless Ultrasonic Dissection Device, approved by federal regulators in February and set to be sold in 2012, infringes U.S. Patent Number 5,322,055, titled "Clamp Coagulator/Cutting System For Ultrasonic Surgical Instruments."

The '055 patent was issued in 1994 and assigned to EES. The patent has claims directed to ultrasonic...