GUIDANT WINS AGAIN IN MEDTRONIC PATENT LAWSUIT

Boston Scientific announced Oct. 12 that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit sided with Guidant (now part of Boston Scientific) in a patent case against Medtronic.

The court affirmed the validity of a cardiac resynchronization patent; Medtronic had filed a declaratory judgment action against Guidant alleging that certain claims in the patent were invalid.

The patent in question was U.S. Patent RE38,119 ('119 patent), which Guidant said it has exclusively licensed from Mirowski Family Ventures, the entity that holds the patent rights of Michel Mirowski, inventor of the implantable defibrillator.

According to Guidant, Medtronic, a licensee of the '119 patent, challenged its obligation in 2003 to pay royalties to the Mirowski family by filing suit to have the patent declared invalid.

To view the court opinion, go to www.fedcir.gov/opinions/05-1515.pdf (http://www.fedcir.gov/opinions/05-1515.pdf).