A Medical Device Daily

Medtronic's spinal business (Memphis, Tennessee) reported that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled in its favor in its on-going patent litigation against Cross Medical Products (Dublin, Ohio), a subsidiary of Biomet (Warsaw, Indiana).

In its decision, the court ruled that Medtronic's multi-axial pedicle screw products do not infringe any claim of Cross Medical's U.S. Patent No. 5,474,555. These Medtronic products include the CD Horizon Legacy, Vertex and CD Horizon Sextant multi-axial screw products.

Medtronic said it is now free to continue to sell these products.

"We are pleased that the Federal Circuit appellate court agreed with our position that we did not infringe Biomet's designs," said Pete Wehrly, senior VP and president of the Spine and Navigation businesses of Medtronic.

The original case involved several patents surrounding spinal surgery. The lower court found in Medtronic's favor in all instances with the exception of one claim made on the patent. The Federal Circuit appellate court decision in Medtronic's favor relates to this claim, the company said.

Medtronic is also asserting that Biomet's products infringe certain Medtronic patents, and it said it will continue to pursue those claims in court.