MED-EL and Advanced Bionics settle shortly before Mannheim UPC judgment

Medical device manufacturers MED-EL and Advanced Bionics have settled their dispute over cochlear implants. The settlement comes shortly before the Mannheim local division of the UPC was due to rule on MED-EL's infringement suit.

The UPC local division in Mannheim had already prepared its ruling by 8 May, with presiding judge Peter Tochtermann keeping it under wraps. Now it will never see the light of day. Plaintiff MED-EL and its opponent Advanced Bionics have reached a settlement to end all ongoing disputes over cochlear implants. MED-EL has confirmed this to JUVE Patent.

The opponents were not only fighting at the UPC, but also at the EPO and in several countries worldwide, including the US, Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK.

Four years down the road

Proceedings initially began in the US state of Delaware, where MED-EL filed actions against Advanced Bionics. However, the defendant then counterclaimed for infringement and brought six patents back at issue against MED-EL in the US.

In Europe the battle kicked off when MED-EL initially sued Advanced Bionics at Mannheim Regional Court for infringement. The dispute centred on the plaintiff’s EP 31 38 605 which protects an MRI-safe disk magnet for implants.

MED-EL later escalated the dispute, involving members of the EP 605 family such as EP 169 and EP 373. Advanced Bionics responded by seeking a declaration of non-infringement and revocation of EP 605 in the Netherlands and the UK. In both countries, the courts originally declared the patent invalid.

However, it was seemingly the Mannheim UPC hearing and the advent of the judgment that brought real movement in the dispute.

Clear signs for a settlement

The Mannheim local division had heard MED-EL’s action for alleged infringement of EP 4 074 373 at the beginning of April and originally scheduled the judgment for 8 May (case ID: UPC_CFI_410/2023).

According to JUVE Patent sources, however, both companies have been in negotiations for weeks now. The court then postponed the ruling until 23 May at the request of the parties. On Friday, MED-EL and Advanced Bionics then asked the court once again to postpone the ruling to 28 May. This suggested that a general agreement had been reached but parties usually need a few more days to negotiate the details.

Most likely, the parties will now withdraw all patent litigation. As a result, the Mannheim local division will not publish its ruling.

Next global dispute settled

EP 373 protects an MRI-safe disk magnet for implants. MED-EL claimed Advanced Bionics’ HiRes™ Ultra 3D Cochlear Implants infringed the patent. In December 2024, the Paris central division rejected Advanced Bionics’ counterclaim for revocation and upheld the patent in amended form (case ID: UPC_CFI_338 /2023 and UPC_CFI_410/2023).

Advanced Bionics and MED-EL, along with Cochlear Corporation, are the three market leaders in cochlear implants. Germany and the UK are the companies’ biggest European markets. The case is hugely significant for Advanced Bionics and the cochlear implant market in general.

Advanced Bionics is a brand of Swiss company Sonova Holding AG, which also owns well-known brands such as Phonak and Sennheiser and most recently generated sales of 3.9 billion Swiss francs. MED-EL, on the other hand, is privately owned and generated sales of €345 million in 2023, according to media reports.