Saturday, September 24, 2011

Medtronic Wins $101 Million in Patent Case ... - Legal Knowledge

Although we respect the jurys finding of infringement onNuVasives patent we differ and are considering our options inthat regard, he said.

He said that NuVasives devices became so successful thatthe small company that originated in an orthopedic surgeonsgarage became a target for the much larger Medtronic. Theywanted in on this product, he said.

Dauchot said today that Medtronic stands by its claim thatit didnt infringe the NuVasive patent.

Another Medtronic attorney, Luke Dauchot, told jurors inhis closing argument that they could award as much as $375.2million for lost profits and royalties.

To contact the editor responsible for this story:Michael Hytha atmhythabloomberg.net.

The verdict is the 14th-largest jury award in the U.S. sor in 2011 and the fourth-largest for a patent-infringementclaim, according to data compiled by Bloomberg News. The largestpatent jury verdict in 2011 was for $482 million in a lawsuitover stents against a Johnson & Johnson unit.

Alexander MacKinnon, a lawyer for Medtronic, said in aninterview after the verdict that the jury award only reflectsdamages through June 2010 and Medtronic will file a motion foran accounting from NuVasive to bring the damages up to date.

Medtronic hasnt filed a request for a court injunctionblocking the use of products found to have infringed its patents.

We will aggressively challenge this verdict, NuVasiveChairman Alex Lukianov said in a statement distributed byMarketwire. We intend to vigorously defend the investments wehave made.

We didnt copy, he said. NuVasive copied nothing.

NuVasive lawyer Frank Scherkenbach told jurors thatNuVasive didnt infringe the Medtronic patents. He saidNuVasives technology at issue is the product of independentdevelopment, was first put on the market in 2003 and soonchanged the ce ofVerdict spinal surgery. He said that Medtronicpossessed no such technology in 2003.

In computing damages, the eight-member jury decided uponpatent royalty rates of 3 percent, 6 percent and 10 percent inawarding lost profits damages (with royalty remainder) forthe three Medtronic patents, and a 5.5 percent patent royaltyrate for the NuVasive patent, according to the verdict form.

NuVasive alleged that another Medtronic unit, MedtronicSomor Danek USA, infringed its patent for a nerve monitoringsystem for lateral spinal surgery, according to court filings.

A NuVasive financial expert testified during the trial thatNuVasive could be awarded as much as $752,000 over the companysinfringement claim against Medtronic.

In a two-week trial, Warsaw Orthopedic Inc., a unit ofMinneapolis-based Medtronic, accused San Diego-based NuVasive ofinfringing three patents for implants capable of being insertedtrans-laterally between adjacent vertebrae, a plate and screwsystem used to stabilize vertebrae in the cervical spine and atissue retractor, according to court filings.

Medtronic Inc. (MDT) won a $101.2 millionjury award in a patent-infringement trial against NuVasive Inc.over claims related to medical devices used in spinal surgery.

The federal jury inSan Diego yesterday also held Medtronicliable for $660,000 in damages to NuVasive for infringing one ofits patents.

We are pleased by the jurys verdict,Doug King, seniorvice-president and president of Medtronic Spinal, said in astatement. The decision confirms our leadership in spinalimplant technology, and we remain committed to vigorouslydefending our intellectual property.

The case is Medtronic Somor Danek USA v.NuVasive Inc. (NUVA),3:08-cv-1512, U.S. DisMedtronic Wins $101 Million in Patent Case Against NuVasivetrict Court, Southern District ofCalifornia (San Diego).

NuVasive will hold a conference call at 8:30 a.m. Easterntime to discuss the verdict, according to the statement.

U.S. District Judge Michael M. Anello presided over thetrial.

ToMedtronic Wins $101 Million in Patent Case Against contact the reporter on this story:Bill Callahan in San Diego at .

Source: http://www.legal-knowledge.info/verdict/medtronic-wins-101-million-in-patent-case-against-nuvasive.html

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