- The Federal Circuit ruled that prosecution history estoppel blocked Colibri’s infringement theory.
- $106 million verdict against Medtronic was reversed after appeal.
- A new wave of value and momentum stocks could be setting up for major moves—and Tim Melvin will name them live this Wednesday. Secure access here.
A federal appeals court has sided with Medtronic Plc MDT in a long-running patent dispute, reversing a jury's finding that the company induced infringement of a Colibri Heart Valve LLC patent related to the implantation of artificial heart valves.
At the heart of the case was Colibri's U.S. Patent No. 8,900,294, which outlines a method allowing surgeons to partially deploy and then recapture an artificial heart valve during implantation if the initial positioning appears off.
This technique gives surgeons a "do-over" opportunity to adjust placement before full deployment.
Thomson Reuters published a copy of the lawsuit online Monday.
Colibri alleged Medtronic encouraged surgeons to perform this method using its CoreValve products, thus infringing the patent under inducement rules in U.S. patent law.
Also Read: Medtronic Stock Is Climbing Friday: What’s Going On?
Initially, the patent application included two methods of partial deployment: pushing the valve from an outer sheath and retracting the sheath to expose the valve.
However, during patent prosecution, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rejected the retraction-based claim for lack of written description, leading Colibri to cancel it. The final patent only included claims directed to the push-based method.
At trial, Medtronic argued its devices used the retraction approach, not the push-based method claimed in the patent.
Colibri, abandoning a literal infringement claim, relied on the doctrine of equivalents—a legal principle that allows courts to find infringement even if the accused method is not identical to the one claimed, so long as it performs substantially the same function in substantially the same way.
A jury sided with Colibri, awarding over $106 million in damages and rejecting Medtronic's arguments, including its challenge that prosecution history estoppel barred Colibri's equivalents claim.
Prosecution history estoppel prevents a patent owner from recapturing through litigation what it gave up during the patenting process.
On appeal, however, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed. The panel ruled that Colibri's cancellation of the retraction-based claim and its acknowledgement of the overlap with the remaining push-based claim triggered prosecution history estoppel.
This barred Colibri from using the doctrine of equivalents to argue that Medtronic's retraction-based method was infringing.
With that determination, the court concluded there was no infringement as a matter of law, reversing the district court's judgment and vacating the $106 million verdict.
In June, Medtronic and its subsidiary, Given Imaging Inc., issued two letters to affected customers recommending that certain Bravo CF Capsule Delivery Devices be removed from use and sold.
Medtronic stated that the capsule may not attach to the patient’s esophagus or detach from the delivery device as intended due to a misapplication of the adhesive during manufacturing the Bravo CF capsule delivery device.
Medtronic’s cardiovascular segment revenue reached $3.34 billion, up 6.6% year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2025, and increased 7.8% organically.
Price Action: MDT stock is up 0.78% at $90.31 at the last check on Monday.
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