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Medtronic Awarded $57
Million in Patent Dispute with AGA Medical Corporation
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August
6,
2009 -- Minneapolis --
Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT), announced today that a federal U.S.
district court jury in San Francisco awarded it $57 million
in past damages, finding that AGA Medical Corp.’s manufacture,
sale and use of its Amplatzer® Occluder and vascular plug
product lines infringed claims of two U.S. patents owned
by Medtronic.
The jury also ordered that AGA pay Medtronic
a royalty of 11% on future U.S. sales of the infringing
products through 2018. |
The patents involved in this case are U.S.
Patent Nos. 6,306,141 and 5,067,957, known as the Jervis patents.
The '141
patent covers self-expanding medical devices using stress to restrain
a metal alloy that will expand to its original shape upon being released
from a restraint, such as a sheath. For example, this invention allows
doctors to locate and expand a medical device to repair holes in
the heart, treat aortic aneurysms, place stents within the peripheral
vasculature or treat damaged or diseased heart valves via a less
invasive, transcatheter heart valve procedure. The '957 patent, which
expired in 2004, covers a method of treatment using shape memory
alloys, such as nitinol, in accordance with the Jervis inventions.
Medtronic is also asserting these same patents
against W.L. Gore & Associates,
Inc. in another case scheduled to begin Aug. 31 in the same U.S.
district court.
Medtronic has widely licensed the Jervis patents to other medical
device manufacturers in the U.S. and will continue to offer licenses
to this important technology.
About Medtronic
Medtronic, Inc. (www.medtronic.com), headquartered
in Minneapolis, is the global leader in medical technology – alleviating
pain, restoring health and extending life for millions of people
around
the world.
Any forward-looking statements are subject
to risks and uncertainties such as those described in Medtronic’s
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended April 24, 2009. Actual
results may differ
materially from anticipated results.
Source: Medtronic,
Inc.
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