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Decision marks major victory for nonprofit research foundation in long-running patent dispute
LOS ANGELES, March 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has affirmed a $268 million award in favor of the Alfred E. Mann Foundation for Scientific Research (AMF) in a long-running dispute with Australia-based Cochlear Corporation over ground-breaking cochlear implant patents.
The Federal Circuit issued a summary affirmance without opinion on March 16 after hearing oral arguments on the appeal on March 6 of this year. The decision upheld a November 2018 judgment by District Court Judge Fernando Olguin that reinstated a jury award in AMF's favor for $134 million and also granted AMF's motion for enhanced damages due to a finding of willful infringement by Cochlear, doubling the jury's damages award.
"This is an enormous win for AMF in litigation that has been ongoing for well over a decade," said John Petrovich, CEO of AMF. "We've known since day one that Cochlear infringed on our groundbreaking patents and are thankful that a jury and the courts agree with us."
"We are gratified at the speedy disposition of this matter by the Federal Circuit following the oral argument. We felt confident in our position in the appeal and are grateful to see that our confidence was justified."
The dispute dates back to 2007 when AMF – a small nonprofit medical research organization – sued Cochlear for infringing on its patented cochlear implant technology. The $268 million award will allow AMF to carry out its important mission to develop and commercialize innovative solutions for significant unmet or poorly met medical conditions.
In addition to the $268 million award affirmed by the Federal Circuit, AMF seeks approximately $123 million in pre-judgment interest and approximately $14.5 million in attorney fees and costs.
About the Alfred Mann Foundation
Founded in 1985 by serial healthcare entrepreneur Alfred E. Mann, the Alfred Mann Foundation for Scientific Research's (AMF) mission is to develop and commercialize innovative solutions for significant unmet or poorly met medical conditions. AMF has developed a myriad of medical devices that change the lives of patients across the globe, including the cochlear implant that enables deaf people to hear, several diabetes products, numerous products in the neuromodulation space for the eradication of pain, and recovery of function. AMF spin-out companies include Axonics Modulation Technologies, Inc.; Medallion Therapeutics; Monolythix, Inc. and Bioness, Inc. AMF is located in Santa Clarita, California.
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