Edwards Keeps Win in Suit Over Valve-Replacement Device Patents

A Delaware judge correctly interpreted transcatheter aortic valve-replacement device patents that were asserted against Edwards Lifesciences Corp., the Federal Circuit ruled, clearing Edwards of infringement claims.

The appeal hinged on the district court’s construction of the term “outer frame” as used in four Aortic Innovations LLC patents to refer to a “self-expanding frame.” Aortic challenged the construction as overly narrow, but Judge Jimmie V. Reyna disagreed in a precedential decision issued Monday by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

A skilled artisan would understand the connection between the terms based on how Aortic described several embodiments ...