Multigate Medical Devices Pty Ltd v B Braun Melsungen AG

Multigate Medical Devices Pty Ltd (Multigate) appealed against a decision of the primary judge, who found that Multigate's intravenous catheters infringed certain claims of a patent held by B Braun Melsungen AG (B Braun) and dismissed Multigate's counterclaim that the patent was invalid. The appeal was heard by the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia. The court was required to decide whether the patent was valid and whether Multigate's catheters infringed the patent.

The court first considered Multigate's appeal against the primary judge's decision that the patent was valid. Multigate argued that the patent was invalid on several grounds, including that the claims of the patent were not fairly based on the matter disclosed in earlier patents. The court rejected these arguments and held that the claims of the patent were fairly based on the matter disclosed in the earlier patents. The court also held that the patent was novel and that the earlier patents provided a real and reasonably clear disclosure of the subsequent claims. The court further held that the disclosures in the earlier patents were incorporated by reference in the subsequent patents. The court therefore dismissed Multigate's appeal on invalidity.

The court then considered Multigate's appeal against the primary judge's decision that Multigate's catheters infringed the patent. Multigate argued that the primary judge had incorrectly construed the claims of the patent. The court held that the primary judge's construction of the claims was correct and that Multigate's catheters did infringe the patent. However, the court also held that three of Multigate's catheters did not infringe the patent because they did not have a blocking role for the needle trap. The court therefore allowed Multigate's appeal in part and held that the three catheters did not infringe the patent.

The court ordered that Multigate's appeal against the primary judge's decision on invalidity be dismissed and that Multigate pay B Braun's costs of and incidental to that appeal. The court also ordered that Multigate's appeal against the primary judge's decision on infringement be allowed in part and that the parties file and serve minutes of orders and short submissions as to any setting aside of or variation to the primary judge's orders and on the question of costs of that proceeding before his Honour and the costs of the application for leave to appeal and the appeal in proceeding VID 681 of 2014.