
Hologic said that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit unanimously affirmed a 2021 district court ruling that invalidated a Minerva patent asserted against Hologic. The appellate court ruled that Minervaβs patent is invalid because it waited more than a year to file a patent application after showing a prototype of the invention at a trade show.
βWe are pleased with the U.S. Court of Appeals decision to invalidate Minervaβs patent. It confirms our belief from the beginning that Minervaβs lawsuit lacked merit,β said Essex Mitchell, President, Hologic GYN Surgical Solutions Division.
In 2017, Minerva alleged that Hologicβs NovaSure Advanced endometrial ablation system infringed a Minerva patent. In 2021, the district court issued a judgment in Hologicβs favor two weeks before trial, holding that Minervaβs patent is invalid.
Todayβs affirmation by the U.S. Court of Appeals follows a prior decision against Minerva. In a separate matter between Hologic and Minerva, a Delaware district court found Minerva liable for infringing a Hologic patent. The U.S. Court of Appeals rejected Minervaβs arguments on appeal and as a result, Minerva had to pay Hologic more than $7.4 million.