Medtronic loses patent appeal against Edwards

Medtronic Inc. lost its appeals court bid to revive patent-infringement claims against Edwards Lifesciences Corp. over a prosthetic valve used in open-heart surgery.

Aspects of a Medtronic patent asserted against Edwards are invalid, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington said in an opinion posted on its website. Medtronic, based in Fridley, had argued its invention dated to 2000, while the appeals court said a trial judge in California was correct to say it was 2003, well after other patent applications were made public.

The case is part of a broader dispute between the two companies, with Medtronic getting its CoreValve device approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and a federal jury in Delaware awarding Edwards $392 million against Medtronic.