J&J's Cordis wins heart stent patent appeal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Cordis Corp, a unit of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N), won the latest round on Monday in a patent fight with Medtronic Inc (MDT.N) and Boston Scientific Corp (BSX.N) over who owns lucrative patents for heart stents.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which hears appeals for patent lawsuits, ruled in favor of Cordis, which accused Medtronic and Boston Scientific in 2000 of infringing patents on stents used to treat heart disease.

Medtronic stopped selling the stents, small mesh tubes used to prop open arteries after doctors have cleared blockages, between 1997 and 2000, said Medtronic spokesman Joe McGrath.

Cordis also convinced the appeals court to reverse the district court's invalidation of one of Cordis' patent claims. A jury had found that Boston Scientific had infringed that patent.

"We affirm the judgments against (Medtronic) and (Boston Scientific), and on Cordis' cross-appeal we reverse the invalidity ruling," the appeals court said in its 45-page decision.

The case was sent back to the district court to determine damages.

Cordis said in a statement that it intended to ask the U.S. District Court in Delaware to reinstate the damages set in 2005 of $271 million against Medtronic and $324 million against Boston Scientific, plus interest.

"We are very pleased that the court of appeals has recognized the validity of the prior verdicts," said Todd Pope, worldwide president of Cordis Corporation.

(Reporting by Diane Bartz, editing by Richard Chang)