Texas Jury Awards Medtronic $250M in Damages in Patent Suit, But Boston Scientific Vows to Fight Verdict

Holding:

A jury sitting in a Texas district court found that Boston Scientific Corp. infringed three patents owned by Medtronic, Inc., and awarded Medtronic $250 million in damages. Specifically, the jury in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas found that Boston Scientific’s balloon catheter and stent delivery systems infringed two Fitzmaurice patents and one Anderson patent relating to angioplasty catheters and balloons, and awarded $83 million as reasonable royalty for infringement of the Anderson patent, and $167 million as reasonable royalty for infringement of the two Fitzmaurice patents. On the issue that the patent claims were invalid because they were anticipated, obvious, not enabled, or failed to satisfy the written description requirement, the jury likewise found in favor of plaintiffs. In its company announcement, Boston Scientific declared that it would seek a reversal of the adverse verdict, claiming that the jury failed to consider its defenses.

Detailed Summary:

Plaintiff Medtronic Vascular, Inc., Medtronic USA, Ins., Medtronic, Inc., and Medtronic Vascular Galway, Ltd. (“Medtronic”) are engaged in medical technology to treat conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, neurological disorders, and vascular illnesses. Defendant Boston Scientific Corp., Scimed Life Systems Inc., Boston Scientific Scimed, Inc. (“Boston Scientific”) are engaged in the development and marketing of medical devices used in a broad range of interventional medical specialties. The patents at issue in this suit were the Fitzmaurice patents that covered angioplasty catheters with narrowed distal ends, which improve the deliverability of angioplasty catheters. On the other hand, he Anderson patent covered semicompliant…

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