Medtronic must face additional Axonics patent challenges, US court rules

Medtronic Plc logo is seen displayed in this illustration taken, April 10, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

Aug 7 (Reuters) - Axonics (AXNX.O) convinced the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Monday to revive its challenge to the validity of two Medtronic (MDT.N) patents, as the rival medical device companies clash over spinal stimulation technology.

The ruling is the second win for Axonics at the Federal Circuit in the past month in the companies' dispute. The court reopened Axonics' challenges to two other Medtronic patents at a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office tribunal in July.

Medtronic sued Axonics in California federal court in 2019 for infringing seven patents related to nerve-stimulation technology. The court delayed an infringement trial that had been set to begin next week following the Federal Circuit's July decision.

Medtronic spokesperson Boua Xiong said on Monday that the company is "confident in the strength of our patent portfolio" and "ready to present our case on Axonics' infringement." She noted that the Federal Circuit has not invalidated any of the patents that the company has accused Axonics of violating.

Representatives for Axonics did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Federal Circuit's decision on Monday.

Medtronic's patents relate to technology for stimulating sacral nerves in the lower back to treat bladder and bowel control issues. It accused Axonics' r-SNM nerve-stimulation system of infringing the patents, which cover aspects of Medtronic's competing InterStim system.

Axonics challenged the validity of two of the patents, related to charging implanted medical devices, at the USPTO's Patent Trial and Appeal Board in 2020. It argued that earlier patents disclosed the same inventions.

The board ruled for Medtronic and upheld the patents last year. But the tribunal made a mistake when it refused to consider Axonics' new arguments after the board adopted an interpretation of the patents' terms that Medtronic submitted, U.S. Circuit Judge Timothy Dyk wrote for a three-judge panel on Monday.

The case is Axonics Inc v. Medtronic Inc, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, No. 22-1532.

For Axonics: Aaron Nathan of Tensegrity Law Group

For Medtronic: Naveen Modi of Paul Hastings

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US appeals court revives Axonics challenges to Medtronic device patents

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Blake Brittain reports on intellectual property law, including patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets, for Reuters Legal. He has previously written for Bloomberg Law and Thomson Reuters Practical Law and practiced as an attorney. Contact: 12029385713