Live By The Patent, Die By The Patent: Extreme Patent Aggressor Medtronic Loses Patent Lawsuit

from the schadenfreude dept

It's always slightly amusing to watch extreme patent aggressors get hoisted by their own petard and lose a patent lawsuit. Medical device maker, Medtronic, is somewhat famous for its aggressive pursuit of patent infringement claims against others. In one case, a few years ago, a judge overturned a ruling that Medtronic had actually won and then scolded the company's lawyers, noting that their "conduct was in disregard for the duty of candor, reflecting an attitude of 'what can I get away with?'" The judge also noted that they knew "with full awareness that their case was without merit" yet they pressed ahead and "created an illusion of infringement." And this wasn't a one off. Just a few weeks later, in a totally different patent lawsuit a completely different judge scolded another set of Medtronic lawyers for doing essentially the same thing.

So it's difficult to get to worked up in hearing that Medtronic is getting a taste of its own medicine, losing an appeal in a case brought against it by Edwards Lifescience, saying that Medtronic needs to pay $74 million. The appeals court also sent it back to the lower court to see if there needs to be an injunction issued.

Filed Under: medical devices, patents
Companies: edwards lifescience, medtronic