Sale of Infringing Heart Valves Preliminarily Enjoined Subject to Carve-Out for “Patients Who Cannot be Helped” by Plaintiff’s Devices

Following a jury verdict of willful infringement, the court granted plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction to preclude defendant from selling its heart valves, subject to certain conditions to address the public interest. "The expert testimony suggests that patients with large annulus sizes must be allowed ongoing access to [defendant's valves]. The testimony also indicates that [defendant's valves] may be to some degree the safer, better option for most patients. . . . Nevertheless, the court cannot downplay the strong public interest favoring enforcement of patent rights. . . . [Defendant] disregarded the law in infringing [plaintiffs'] patent and boldly continued to thumb its nose at the law by continuing its conduct even after being found to be a willful infringer. The court cannot ignore the fact that it would serve as a reward of sorts to [defendant] and an incentive for onlookers to behave as [defendant] has should the court permit [defendant] to freely commence sales of its device. In light of all the relevant considerations, the court finds that the public interest weighs in favor of granting [plaintiffs] a preliminary injunction, subject to an accommodation for [defendant] to sell its devices to those patients who cannot be helped by [plaintiffs'] devices." Edwards Lifesciences AG et al v. Corevalve Inc., et al, 1-08-cv-00091 (DED April 15, 2014, Order) (Sleet, J.)