In a 2007 lawsuit, Synthes, the world’s largest producer of bone-related devices, charged Medtronic, the world’s largest medical-device maker, with infringing a patent related to implants used to replace degenerative or diseased spinal discs. In 2008, a jury awarded Synthes $5.7 million and instructed Medtronic to pay an 18 percent royalty on $9.1 million in sales of its three implants, according to the report.
The Court of Appeals upheld findings that two Medtronic products infringed a Synthes patent, but declared no violation related to a third device. The case is being sent back to a lower court for recalculation of the damages Medtronic owes Synthes, according to the report.
Read the Bloomberg report on the Medtronic, Synthes spinal disc device lawsuit appeal.
