Covidien plc (NYSE:COV) suffered a setback in its patent infringement suit against C.R. Bard Inc. (NYSE:BCR).
Judge Susan Robinson of the U.S. District Court for Delaware ruled Jan. 20 that a Covidien product is mis-marked as covered by the patent, but granted a Covidien motion to toss a charge that it sought to falsely extend the life of the patent by so-called “double-patenting” the device.
Covidien (then Tyco Healthcare Group LP) sued Bard subsidiary Davol Inc. in April 2009, alleging that the Cranston, R.I.-based company’s Sorbafix and Permafix surgical fasteners infringe on its patent for a "Surgical Helical Fastener with Applicator" — a “tacker”-type fastener used during a hernia repair to affix a surgical mesh to the affected tissue, according to court documents. In Feb. 2010, Bard filed the counterclaim for false marking of Covidien’s AbsorbaTack product with the patent in question.
Covidien’s patent describes a "helical fastener having a high retentive surface area with a first end (for enhancing penetration into tissue) and a second end comprising a coil (for receiving longitudinal and rotational forces)," according to the court documents. Robinson found that Covidien falsely marked the Sorbafix and Permafix fasteners as falling under the patent’s purview.
