Boston Scientific, OrbusNeich call cease-fire in stent fight

OrbusNeich claimed Boston Scientific violated its patents with the Promus Element and other stents.--Courtesy of Boston Scientific

The long and colorful patent fight between Boston Scientific ($BSX) and OrbusNeich has come to an end, as the Massachusetts giant has agreed to make a one-time payment to settle its rival's lawsuits.

Under the agreement, Boston Scientific handed over an undisclosed sum and OrbusNeich has called off its legal dogs, settling all stent-related suits but not covering "future financial obligations," the companies said in a joint statement.

The settlement closes out a year-long, multinational squabble in which OrbusNeich claimed Boston Scientific violated its patents with many of its stents, including the top-selling Promus Element and newly released Promus Premier. OrbusNeich first filed suit in Germany, gradually expanding its litigation to Ireland, the Netherlands, the U.K. and the U.S.

In April, OrbusNeich won an injunction in Germany, barring Boston Scientific from selling a fleet of offending stents. That's when things took a strange turn: In May, OrbusNeich claimed it called the local police to seize infringing stents from Boston Scientific's German HQ, a story the latter company denied but declined to clarify.

But now that's all in the past. Neither company responded to requests for further comment Tuesday, but their terse joint statement makes clear that the two will be getting back to business as usual, Boston Scientific reaping billions from its global vascular operation and OrbusNeich scraping out a larger share of the world's stent market.

• read the statement