Occlutech GmbH won another round in its ongoing patent dispute with St. Jude Medical Inc. (NYSE:STJ) acquisition AGA Medical.
The German Supreme Court (BGH) in Karlsruhe ruled that it does not see any basis for AGA Medical’s claim that Occlutech’s atrial septal defects (ASD) and patent foramen ovale (PFO) occlusion devices violate the company’s patents.
The litigation by AGA Medical, which was bought out by St. Jude in November 2010, stretches back to 2006 when the Plymouth, Minn.-based company filed its initial patent infringement claim against Occlutech over the intravascular occlusion devices and the method of manufacturing those devices.
The latest ruling also declared invalid a July 2010 victory for AGA in the Düsseldorf Regional Court, according to a statement from Occlutech.
The company said the latest ruling by the BGH is similar in many aspects to the recent outcomes of cases in the United Kingdom, The Netherlands as well as a ruling in Sweden.
Occlutech said it intends to initiate litigation for "substantial damages" against AGA Medical and St. Jude.
AGA manufactures a line of intravascular occlusion devices called Amplatzer and markets them in 112 countries.