In Medtronic, Inc., Medtronic Vascular, Inc., v. Teleflex Innovations S.A.R.L., the case addresses the weight the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) should give to the intended purpose of a primary reference when evaluating a Person of Ordinary Skill in the Art's (POSITA) motivation to combine that primary reference with secondary references.
Background
Teleflex Innovation S.A.R.L. (Teleflex) owns multiple patents to a dual catheter design, wherein an extension catheter is disposed within a larger guide catheter coaxially. This coaxial orientation allows the larger guide catheter to remain relatively stationary and secure within a patient's artery while the extension catheter within is free to extend through the guide catheter into the patient. Teleflex's patent is specific to the context of delivering interventional cardiology devices (e.g., guidewires, stents, stents, balloon catheters) into a patient's coronary artery. The opinion provides Fig. 4 from one of Teleflex's patents for...
