Jury Rules in Favor of Axonics in Medtronic Patent Infringement Suit

Axonics announced that the jury returned a unanimous verdict in the patent infringement lawsuit brought by Medtronic in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
 
The jury found that Axonics doesn’t infringe any of the three patents in the lawsuit.
 
“A jury of our peers recognized that Axonics’ proprietary tined lead design and temperature sensor technology is differentiated from our competitor’s intellectual property,” said Raymond W. Cohen, Axonics’ CEO. “As we have said since this case was first filed in late 2019, our view is that Medtronic’s lawsuit was initiated to stifle competition, limit patient and physician choice, and protect the incumbent’s monopoly in sacral neuromodulation. We are very pleased with the jury’s finding and continue to remain focused on fulfilling our mission of positively impacting the lives of adults with bladder and bowel dysfunction.”

Medtronic also issued a statement to MPO regarding the jury verdict.

“Medtronic respectfully disagrees with the jury’s verdict and will file post-trial motions, and an appeal, if necessary, to overturn this verdict. Additionally, Medtronic will continue fighting to protect and enforce its intellectual property rights with a pending case against Axonics at the International Trade Commission.”

More about the Medtronic-Axonics patent battle 

In November 2019, Medtronic filed a lawsuit against Axonics that alleged patent infringements over sacral neuromodulation (SNM) technologies. Axonics’ r-SNM platform has been a competitor to Medtronic’s Interstim system since its first U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in 2019, when the suit was first filed.
 
Axonics responded by filing seven claims over the ‘069 patent, which covers charging an implantable device having a battery.
 
In 2020, the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) decided to reject one of Axonics’ claims to invalidate a Medtronic patent. It found Axonics’ argument concerning the ‘324 patent for technology related to implant recharging and temperature control lacked merit.
 
A year later, PTAB rejected Axonics’ play to invalidate three Medtronic patents in its intellectual property (IP) infringement lawsuit. It upheld claims in Medtronic’s U.S. patents ‘756 and ‘314, which protects technology related to its tined leads. Claim seven for patent ‘069 was also upheld, which protects technology associated with its recharge power control.
 
In February 2024, Medtronic then filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) with a parallel action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware to block Axonics from improperly importing and selling products that infringe two Medtronic patents related to MRI compatibility of implantable medical devices. The company wanted the ITC to investigate and exclude importation of the offending Axonics products alleged to infringe its patents.
 
Axonics believes that the legal action is an attempt to intimidate the smaller company and stifle competition.
 
Axonics’ lawsuit took another hit in March, when the U.S. Patent Office rejected its latest challenge by affirming the validity of two Medtronic patents.