AGA Medical Wins Septal Closure Appeal at the Federal Circuit
On Monday, June 3, 2013, the Federal Circuit affirmed the judgments of non-infringement and invalidity in a lawsuit filed by the University of Minnesota against AGA Medical. The opinion was authored by Judge Dyk.
The University of Minnesota alleged that AGA infringed two patents, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,077,291 and 6,077,281, directed to “devices and methods for occluding septal defects or shunts in the heart or the vascular system.” Following claim construction, the District Court of Minnesota granted summary judgment that the ‘291 patent was not infringed, and the ‘281 patent was anticipated. On appeal to the Federal Circuit, the University of Minnesota argued that the district court had incorrectly construed the claims of the ‘291 patent, and incorrectly found the ‘281 patent invalid.
The Federal Circuit affirmed, holding that the District Court properly construed the ‘291 patent’s claim language, correctly held that AGA’s device did not infringe the asserted claims of the ‘291 patent, and correctly held that the ‘281 patent was invalid in view of the prior art.
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