Even though they are still quoted, statements in Medtronic v. Lohr, which question whether FDA (Food & Drug Administration) medical device clearance is a judgment about a device’s safety, no longer accurately describe what...more
Earlier this year, the California Court of Appeals in Mize v. Mentor Worldwide LLC, 51 Cal.App.5th 850 (2020), reversed a trial court’s dismissal of failure to warn and other claims against a medical device manufacturer,...more
To date, the Supreme Court has granted certiorari (commonly referred to as cert) to five patent-related cases this term, which will result in three oral arguments likely to be decided before the end of the term. Two of the...more
On January 19, 2016, the Supreme Court issued a grant-vacate-remand order in a dispute between rival medical device companies Medtronic and NuVasive. The order directs the Federal Circuit to revisit its decision in light of...more
After reflecting upon the events of the past twelve months, Patent Docs presents its eighth annual list of top patent stories. For 2014, we identified eighteen stories that were covered on Patent Docs last year that we...more
- Government allegations of Medtronic’s alleged incentives to physicians for prescribing its medical devices lead company, while denying wrongdoing, to settle False Claims Act suit predicated on Anti-Kickback Statute. ...more
On June 23, 2014, the United States Supreme Court denied certiorari in Medtronic, Inc. v. Stengel, leaving in place the Ninth Circuit's en banc decision permitting a failure-to-warn claim against a pre-market approval (PMA)...more
When facing a patent litigation threat, potential defendants have the option to seek a declaration that they are not infringing. Until recently, however, that strategy carried a hidden risk: the burden of proof on the...more
The Supreme Court of the United States has made it clear that the traditional canons of litigation — including those involving jurisdiction and which party bears the burden of proof — hold true in patent cases, even those...more
Defendant Bears Burden of Proof in Declaratory Judgment Case - In Medtronic, Inc. v. Mirowski Family Venture, LLC, Appeal No. 12-1128, the Supreme Court reversed the Federal Circuit’s determination that the burden of...more
For nearly 150 years, it has been established that a patent holder (“patentee”) ordinarily bears the burden of proving infringement. The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Medtronic v. Mirowski Family Ventures, LLC, 571...more
A unanimous Supreme Court of the United States, in a decision authored by Justice Breyer, reversed the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, holding that the patentee bears the burden of persuasion on the issue of...more
In its first intellectual property ruling of the current term, the Supreme Court unanimously held on January 22, 2014 in Medtronic, Inc. v. Mirowski Family Ventures LLC that a patentee always bears the burden of proving...more
A patentee bears the burden of proving infringement when a licensee seeks a declaratory judgment of non-infringement, the U.S. Supreme Court has held. The ruling reversed the Federal Circuit and clarified declaratory...more
The Supreme Court's decision last week in Medtronic v. Mirowski Family Ventures, LLC clarifies once again that patent holders bear the burden of proving patent infringement—even in declaratory judgment actions brought by...more
The U.S. Supreme Court reversed the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in a unanimous opinion in Medtronic, Inc. v. Mirowski Family Ventures, LLC, No. 12-1128, on January 22, 2014, holding that patent owners bear...more
In terms of the question presented, the Supreme Court of the United States answered that when a licensee seeks declaratory judgment against a patentee, asserting that its products do not infringe the licensed patent, “the...more
In Medtronic, Inc. v. Mirowski Family Ventures, LLC, a unanimous Supreme Court held that the patent holder bears the burden of proving infringement, even in a declaratory judgment action brought by a licensee. In reaching its...more
Earlier today, in Medtronic, Inc. v. Mirowski Family Ventures, LLC, the Supreme Court held that "when a licensee seeks a declaratory judgment against a patentee to establish that there is no infringement, the burden of...more
The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Medtronic Inc. v. Boston Scientific Corp. on Tuesday, November 5, 2013. The sole issue to be determined is whether the burden of proof shifts in a declaratory judgment action...more
"In the modern economy, licensing of intellectual property rights is a widespread and essential activity." Those are the opening lines from the amicus curiae brief submitted by the Intellectual Property Owners Association...more
As we previously reported, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in the Medtronic Inc. v. Boston Scientific Corp. case, where the sole issue on appeal is whether the burden of proof shifts in a declaratory judgment action...more
On May 20, 2013, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in the Medtronic Inc. v. Boston Scientific Corp. case (Supreme Court docket number 12-1128). The sole issue on appeal is encapsulated by the question presented...more