Arthrex loses appeal in patent spat with Smith & Nephew

Arthrex has lost an appeal before the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in a patent spat with Smith & Nephew (NYSE:SNN) related to suture anchors, according to court documents.

The decision from Federal Circuit Judges Newman, Dyk and O’Malley reaffirmed an earlier decision from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, which entered an adverse judgement for Arthrex after it disclaimed claims that were the subject of the petition under review.

The decision included concurring opinions from both Judge Dyk and Judge O’Malley, but received a dissenting opinion from Judge Newman, according to court documents.

Last February, Arthrex said it buried the hatchet on a 12-year-old dispute over patents covering suture anchors used in joint repair surgeries. Details on the settlement, which puts to bed several lawsuits filed in federal court in Texas, were not disclosed.

The agreement follows a $17.4 million jury verdict for Naples, Fla.-based Arthrex in 2016, in which the U.S. District Court for Eastern Texas panel found that Smith & Nephew subsidiary ArthroCare infringed a pair of Arthrex patents. The infringement was willful, the jury found, opening the door to trebled damages, according to the documents.

Arthrex said at the time that it planned to pursue an injunction barring further manufacture and sales of the infringing devices, as well as further damages.

Smith & Nephew 1st sued Arthrex over suture anchors back in 2004, winning a $20.5 million judgment in June 2008. Although that verdict was overturned the next year, a new trial ended in an $85 million judgment for Smith & Nephew in 2011. After the case bounced from the district level to the U.S. Federal Circuit Appeals Court and back, the appeals court in March 2015 upheld the decision. In June of that year Smith & Nephew said it received $99 million from Arthrex, including $4 million in costs and interest payments.

In November 2016, Arthrex asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a $99 million loss to the British orthopedic and wound care giant.

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