Court reverses ruling against NuVasive in trademark suit

(Reuters) – Medical device maker NuVasive Inc said a U.S. circuit court reversed a verdict by a district court that required the company to pay $60 million in a trademark suit concerning its Neurovision products.The lawsuit, filed by Neurovision Medical Products Inc in September 2009, sought to cancel NuVasive’s trademark on the products that carried the Ventura, California-based company’s name, alleging trademark infringement.NuVasive, which focuses on making surgical products for spine procedures, uses the name for its nerve monitoring platform.
The circuit court ruling on Monday comes after NuVasive appealed the district court judgment from last January. The judgment also prohibited NuVasive from using the NeuroVision name for marketing purposes, apart from requiring NuVasive to pay attorney fees and costs.
The circuit court on Monday also reversed these judgments and sent the case back to the district court for a new trial under a different judge.NuVasive expects the new proceedings to begin in the coming months, the company said in a regulatory filing.