W.L. Gore & Associates paid C.R. Bard ($BCR) the first $36 million of the $857.4 million-plus it owes its archrival now that a federal judge has affirmed Bard's victory in a years-long vascular graft patent suit. MassDevice, citing court documents, reported that the initial payment covers royalties owed Bard from July 1 through Sept. 30, 2013. The stent dispute dates back to the 1970s. Gore had argued that one of its engineers helped invent a polymer material used in Bard's vascular stent graft, but Bard asserted it had legal rights to the patent. Gore uses the material to develop both fabrics and surgical devices. A federal jury ruled in Bard's favor in 2007, and the appeals process has failed for Gore ever since. Story