Nevro (NYSE:NVRO) and Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) announced today that they reached a settlement over intellectual property litigations.
The settlement gives Boston Scientific the freedom to operate using the features and capabilities embodied in its current line of products for frequencies below 1,500 Hz, with Nevro given the freedom to operate using the features and capabilities in its current line of products. It concludes all existing litigations between the companies and includes a payment of $85 million from Boston Scientific to Nevro.
Nevro had filed a patent infringement suit in the federal Northern District of California relating to high-frequency paresthesia-free spinal cord stimulation (SCS) therapy. In 2018, Boston Scientific assured the court that it had no imminent plans to commercially launch a high-frequency spinal cord stimulation system delivering therapy at frequencies between 1,500 Hz and 100 kHz and the parties agreed to the dismissal of Nevro’s declaratory judgment claims.
Then, Nevro appealed the California court’s ruling of invalidity. In April 2020, the Federal Circuit ruled in Nevro’s favor, vacating and remanding the California court’s judgment of invalidity. At the time, as Boston Scientific had no plans to commercially launch a high-frequency SCS system in the U.S., the parties agreed to dismiss all remaining claims in the California case. In December 2020, the companies agreed to end the patent infringement lawsuit — but at the time, Boston Scientific’s patent infringement and trade secret misappropriation cases against Nevro continued in Delaware
Under the terms of the settlement announced today, Nevro will grant Boston Scientific a worldwide, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to practice paresthesia-free therapy at frequencies below 1,500 Hz and a covenant not to sue for any features embodied in any current Boston Scientific products for frequencies below 1,500 Hz.
Boston Scientific will grant Nevro a worldwide, non-exclusive, non-transferrable license under its asserted patent families and a covenant not to sue for any features embodied in any current Nevro products.
The companies said in a news release that the settlement reached concludes all of the existing litigations between them.
