Minerva Surgical Inc. cannot patent a medical device used to treat heavy menstrual bleeding after exhibiting it at a trade event likened to the industry’s Super Bowl, the Federal Circuit ruled Wednesday, upholding a lower court’s decision that let rival Hologic Inc. escape infringement claims.
The precedential opinion agreed with District Judge Joseph Bataillon’s 2021 ruling in Delaware federal court that Minerva’s device became ineligible for patent protection under a “public use” law following a 2009 trade show where it displayed a prototype.
“The patented technology was ‘in public use’ because, before the critical date, Minerva disclosed fifteen devices having ...