A Medical Device Daily
The U.S. District Court in Denver has dismissed a longstanding patent infringement lawsuit filed by Medtronic (Minneapolis) against BrainLAB (Westchester, Illinois). The suit originally was filed in 1998.
The court ruled that BrainLAB's image-guided surgery/radiotherapy products do not infringe any of the patents involved in the suit, determining that the evidence does not support a finding of infringement.
In September, a Denver jury reached a verdict finding that BrainLAB infringed four patents held or licensed by Medtronic, and determined that a reasonable royalty on BrainLAB product sales in the U.S. amounted to $51 million.
The court's ruling set aside that jury verdict and precludes the injunction Medtronic had been seeking.
“We are pleased to see that the court has confirmed the uniqueness of our image-guided technology and that our technology does not infringe Medtronic's patents,“ said Stefan Vilsmeier, BrainLAB founder and CEO. “We look forward to continued success in our surgical navigation business and to supplying our partners with our advanced technology.“
In other legalities:
A class-action lawsuit was filed earlier this month by the law firm of Federman & Sherwood in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against The Cooper Companies (Pleasanton, California).
The complaint alleges violations of federal securities laws, including that the company issued a series of material misrepresentations to the market which had the effect of artificially inflating the market price. The class period is from July 29, 2004, through Nov. 21, 2005.
The Cooper Companies' CooperVision and CooperSurgical businesses make healthcare products worldwide. The CooperVision segment manufactures toric lenses, which correct astigmatism; multifocal lenses for presbyopia; cosmetic lenses that change or enhance the appearance of the color of the eye; and spherical lenses that correct the common visual defects. The CooperSurgical segment provides medical devices, diagnostic products, and surgical instruments and accessories that are primarily used by gynecologists and obstetricians.