The District Court in Munich, Germany has partially found in favour of Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (formerly CardiAQ Valve Technologies) in its case against Neovasc.
In this case, CardiAQ had claimed ownership rights to one of Neovasc’s European patent applications for its Tiara mitral valve replacement technology. The German court found CardiAQ had contributed in part to the invention of the Tiara and awarded to CardiAQ co-entitlement rights to the disputed Tiara European patent application. There are no monetary awards associated with this matter. According to a press release, Neovasc intends to appeal this decision.
In a related matter, Neovasc is currently appealing the 2016 decision from the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts which, among other things, granted co-inventorship rights to CardiAQ on one of Neovasc’s granted US patent applications. This appeal is now before the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, DC. An expedited appeal schedule has been set with all the briefings from both parties now submitted. According to the release, Neovasc expects oral argument on its appeal in August 2017. A ruling is expected to follow, prior to the end of 2017.
The release states that, pending the outcome of the US Court of Appeals, Neovasc—in consultation with its European and North American legal advisors—will vigorously defend its position that the case in Germany is without merit, and will explore all options regarding the appellate process.
