The patent war over a female contraceptive device continues as Hologic (NSDQ:HOLX) seeks to overturn a $18.8 million patent loss and Conceptus’ (NSDQ:CPTS) pursues a permanent injunction to keep Hologic’s Adiana device off the U.S. market.
Hologic had said it would consider its options, including an appeal, when a California judge decided in January that the company may continue selling its female sterilization device after finding it infringed on Conceptus patents.
A jury awarded Conceptus $18.8 million and royalties of 20% in October 2011 after finding that Hologic’s Adiana device infringed on 5 patents, and Judge William Alsup of the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, denied Hologic’s motion to overturn the jury decision.
Conceptus filed for a permanent injunction days after the jury decision, but the judge denied the motion in January.
"We are very pleased the judge saw fit to allow the Adiana system to stay on the market as an alternative for women seeking permanent contraception," Mark Casey, Hologic’s senior vice president said at the time. "We continue to evaluate our options in this matter, including appealing the underlying infringement verdict."
Both companies launched new offensives on the matter this week: Hologic filed an appeal to overturn the court’s decision, according to court documents, and Conceptus filed a cross-appeal, seeking an injunction against Hologic and keeping options open to claim further royalties and lost profits, according to a press release.
The news sat well with Wall Street for either company today. Conceptus was down about 1% to $13.43 and Hologic was down about 1% to $20.58 as of 4:45 p.m. today.
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