A Ropes & Gray team has obtained a victory for client Nova Biomedical Corporation in a suit brought by rival Medtronic MiniMed, Inc. alleging misappropriation of trade secrets, unfair competition and several other related claims.

In the suit, Medtronic Minimed, Inc. v. Nova Biomedical Corporation et al, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California denied the plaintiff's motion for a preliminary injunction, finding that Medtronic had failed to show it would be irreparably harmed and that it had not established that it was likely to succeed on the merits.

Medtronic sued Nova to stop the company's effort to manufacture and market its Nova Max Link blood glucose meter. The Nova Max Link meter can wirelessly communicate a patient's blood glucose level to a Medtronic insulin pump, which then recommends an insulin dosage to the patient. Medtronic alleged that the Nova Max Link meter utilizes trade secrets contained in Medtronic's "Communication Technology." Nova denies that it uses any Medtronic trade secret and asserts that Medtronic voluntarily disclosed its "Communication Technology" to Nova as part of an earlier joint development effort.

In March 2008, Medtronic filed a motion for a preliminary injunction against Nova based on its misappropriation of trade secrets claim under California's Uniform Trade Secret Act. But in May, the court denied Medtronic's request, ruling that Medtronic had raised only speculative injuries and that should it ultimately prevail, Medtronic could recover money damages. The court went on to find that Medtronic had not shown that it made reasonable efforts to protect its Communication Technology secret, noting that "[a]s of December 2007, Nova was free to disclose the Communication Technology to the world." Finally, the court found that since the Nova Max Link meter is the only meter of its kind currently on the market, permitting our client to distribute their meter serves the public interest.

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