A federal judge, finding a hip-replacement device manufacturer waived attorney-client privilege on communications with its patent counsel, has compelled the disclosure of documents and oral statements in an infringement suit.

U.S. District Judge Susan Wigenton in Newark found an intentional waiver resulting from a statement filed with the U.S. Patent Office in May 2009, two years before the start of the litigation, Howmedica Osteonics Corp. v. DePuy Orthopaedics.