
Appeals court upholds NuVasive patent win over Medtronic
April 15, 2015 by Brad Perriello
A federal appeals court yesterday dealt Medtronic a 2nd blow in nearly as many weeks when it upheld a U.S. Patent & Trademark Office decision that a NuVasive patent is valid.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the PTO’s Patent Trial & Appeal Board’s validity ruling without comment, according to court records. Medtronic asked the PTO for an inter partes review of patent no. 7,582,058, “Surgical access system and related method,” back in 2009. Read more
Appeals court won't revisit Bard's $1B win over W.L. Gore
April 13, 2015 by Brad Perriello
W.L. Gore & Assoc. is on the hook for nearly $1.1 billion in damages owed to C.R. Bard after a federal appeals court last week nixed its bid to reconsider part of the case.
Last January the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld a judgment of willful infringement against Gore, tacking on an extra $205 million to the $854 million Gore already owed Bard for trespassing its stent graft patents. Read more
Ex-Boston Scientific engineer cops to stealing catheter secrets
April 15, 2015 by Brad Perriello
A former engineer at Boston Scientific reportedly pleaded guilty to a single count of stealing trade secrets from the medical device maker’s cardiac catheter line.
Aaron Quoc Khieu worked for Boston Scientific at its Maple Grove, Minn., facility as an engineer working on new catheter products, according to court documents. Khieu allegedly stole more than 100 documents covering the specs for Boston Scientific’s Sapphire and Mustang catheters, plus the documentation covering an as-yet unreleased product, according to the indictment. The name of the 3rd catheter is still under seal, according to the documents. Read more
AngioDynamics wants court to enforce $160m Biolitec judgment
April 13, 2015 by Brad Perriello
AngioDynamics wants a federal court judge in Massachusetts to enforce its $160 million judgment against German medical laser maker Biolitec.
Judge Michael Ponsor of the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts slapped Biolitec with a $75 million ruling last year, after finding that it deliberately effected a so-called “downstream merger” to move its incorporation to Austria to escape jurisdiction in U.S. courts. Read more