Medtronic Must Again Face Neurostimulation Patent Challenges

An administrative tribunal erred when it let Medtronic Inc. escape from a pair of patent validity challenges, a Federal Circuit panel ruled Monday, ordering the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to reconsider a competitor’s arguments that the patents cover an obvious innovation.

Axonics Inc. originally asked the PTAB to examine Medtronic’s US Patent Nos. 8,626,314 and 8,036,756, which cover a neurostimulation device, after Medtronic accused it of infringement. The board used a flawed analysis to decide that the patents weren’t obvious in light of prior inventions, Judge Richard G. Taranto wrote in a precedential opinion Monday.

The board shot ...