An appellate court has shot down the idea that patent infringement can give rise to antitrust liability, and with it a $340 million jury verdict.

Friday’s ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit hands a big win to Becton Dickinson & Co. in its 15-year legal dispute with Retractable Technologies Inc. over safety syringes. Safety syringes are designed to prevent the transmission of blood-borne diseases such as AIDS via accidental needle prick.