MINNEAPOLIS, October 30 /PRNewswire/ --
AGA Medical Holdings (AGA Medical, AGA) announced today its determination to appeal a recent ruling from The Patent Court in the Netherlands related to a proceeding brought by Occlutech GmbH, headquartered in Jena, Germany. The lawsuit sought invalidity and/or non-infringement declarations related to AGA Medical's claim that Occlutech had infringed on one of its European patents for intravascular occlusion devices and the method of forming or manufacturing these medical devices. The company also announced its intention to file a new suit against Occlutech for infringement of a recently issued European patent.
The original patent was granted to AGA Medical in October 2005, and, in August 2006, the company filed a lawsuit against Occlutech and DRABO Medzintechnik in District Court in Dusseldorf, Germany. In July 2007, the German court ruled that Occlutech had infringed the German patent and granted an order prohibiting the defendants from possessing, manufacturing or selling the infringing products. The Dutch trial court only ruled on infringement and not on the invalidity claim and did not follow the reasoning of the German court on infringement.
Following the German court's decision, Occlutech appealed the ruling and that appeal is planned to be heard in Dusseldorf in mid-November.
With respect to the Dutch case, AGA Medical intends to pursue an appeal in this matter through The Hague's appellate court, said John Barr, President and CEO of AGA Medical. We will continue to vigorously defend our intellectual property rights globally. We do not believe that this ruling will have any material impact on our business.
ABOUT AGA MEDICAL
AGA Medical Corporation, based in Plymouth, Minnesota (just outside Minneapolis), is the leader in developing interventional devices to treat structural heart defects. As a result of the many contributions and creative genius of Dr. Kurt Amplatz, the company has developed and commercialized a series of devices that have revolutionized the treatment of the most common congenital holes in the heart, such as atrial septal and patent foramen ovale defects. The company is expanding into new areas, including the minimally invasive repair of vascular abnormalities. Over 700 articles have been published in peer reviewed medical publications that support the benefits of AGA Medical devices, such as improved patient outcomes, reduced length of stay and accelerated recovery times for the patient. AGA Medical devices have received regulatory approval and are marketed in over 90 countries with over 250,000 devices shipped to date. For more information, visit http://www.amplatzer.com.
Website: http://www.amplatzer.com
Aimee Corso of WeissComm Partners, +1-310-780-2661, acorso@wcpglobal.com, for AGA Medical Holdings
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