| June 13, 2005 |
Notification of decision of invalidity against patent held by ACS |
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As of 16th January, 2004, Guidant’s 100% wholly owned subsidiary ACS (Advanced
Cardiovascular Systems) filed a temporary injunction against Goodman seeking
the suspension of product sales based on a domestic Japanese patent held
by the same company, which they claimed our Duraflex Coronary Stent product
infringed upon.
From that
point, with the unwavering view that the allegations from ACS were groundless,
Goodman responded to the temporary injunction.
Concurrently, due to strong perceptions from the outset of problems in
the validity of the patent itself, Goodman, on 12th February, appealed
for a ruling that the ACS patent be deemed invalid. |
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Through such events, on 31st May, 2005, in-line with our request, a decision
was made to such effect that the ACS patent was invalid, and a judgment
was passed down on 10th June.
Furthermore, the previous matter of the temporary injunction was closed
by voluntary withdrawal from the Tokyo District Court on 30th June, 2004
by ACS. |
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Thus, we discretely announce that all disputes concerning the Duraflex
Coronary Stent have been closed, and our sincere business attitude has once
again been confirmed from various legal viewpoints. |
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