NuVasive settles long-running patent battle with Medtronic for $45M

NuVasive ($NUVA) has agreed to shell out $45 million to Medtronic ($MDT) to settle an old patent dispute over spinal implant technology that dates back to 2008.

San Diego-based Nuvasive said in a release that as part of the settlement both sides agreed to grant each other certain global nonexclusive royalty-free licenses to related some product lines, and not to make patent infringement claims on spinal implants, biologics and neuromonitoring for up to 7 years without first going through a specified resolution process.

NuVasive will make a one-time payment of $45 million, and the parties will release each other from any and all liabilities arising out of the litigation. The patent dispute included NuVasive’s CoRoent XL implants and MaXcess retractors.

"We are very pleased to have negotiated a mutually agreeable settlement that removes the ongoing burden of this litigation and provides for a framework for resolution of potential patent disputes in the future," Gregory T. Lucier, chairman and CEO of NuVasive, said in a statement.

NuVasive began setting money aside back in 2013 when a U.S. District Court ordered it to pay royalties to settle the dispute. The case, however, wound its way through appeals for the next three years before this week’s settlement.

In more recent NuVasive news unrelated to the suit, the company announced in early June that it bought Biotronic, a provider of intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring services, for $98 million in cash.

- check out the settlement release

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NuVasive ordered to pay Medtronic royalties in spinal implant suit