Medtronic wins appeals case, avoids $106.5M patent verdict.

Medtronic has won an appeal to avoid a $106.5M patent verdict in a lawsuit related to heart valve replacement technology. A federal appeals court overturned a California federal jury verdict that ordered Medtronic to pay the amount to rival Colibri Heart Valve LLC. The court ruled in favor of Medtronic, clearing the company of any wrongdoing in the patent infringement case.

Medtronic has successfully appealed a $106.5 million patent verdict, avoiding a significant financial burden in a lawsuit involving heart valve replacement technology. The federal appeals court overturned a California federal jury verdict that ordered Medtronic to pay the amount to rival Colibri Heart Valve LLC.

The appeals court ruled in favor of Medtronic, clearing the company of any wrongdoing in the patent infringement case. The court determined that the district court did not properly consider that Colibri Heart Valve LLC had canceled a claim from its original patent application that would have covered two methods for implanting an artificial heart valve to replace a defective one—a push method and a retraction method. Medtronic successfully argued that the products targeted in Colibri’s verdict employed the retraction method that Colibri dropped from its application to overcome a patent examiner’s initial rejection.

The ruling from a three-judge panel claimed that the previous court’s judge failed to determine if Medtronic actually violated Colibri’s patent. The court concluded that prosecution history estoppel, based on Colibri’s cancellation of the claim for "retraction" for partial deployment of the replacement valve and Colibri’s own recognition of the close linkage of the subject matter of the canceled and retained claims, barred application of the doctrine of equivalents.

The appeal reversed the district court’s denial of judgment as a matter of law of noninfringement, rendering the remaining aspects of the appeal moot. The Federal Circuit’s decision has significant implications for the medical device industry, particularly regarding the validity and enforceability of patents involving complex medical technologies.

References:
[1] https://news.bloomberglaw.com/ip-law/medtronic-reverses-107-million-patent-verdict-at-appeals-court
[2] https://www.massdevice.com/medtronic-wins-appeal-tavr-patent-suit/
[3] https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/cafc/23-2153/23-2153-2025-07-18.html