Sept 19 (Reuters) - Medical device maker Axonics ( AXNX ) has

convinced a jury in California federal court that it did not

violate rival Medtronic's ( MDT ) patent rights in

nerve-stimulation technology.

The jury agreed with Axonics ( AXNX ) on Wednesday that its R15

neurostimulation system did not infringe Medtronic ( MDT ) patents

related to its own devices, which are used to treat incontinence

and overactive bladder.

A Medtronic ( MDT ) spokesperson said on Thursday that the company

disagrees with the verdict, will seek to overturn it, and will

continue with a related case against Axonics ( AXNX ) at the U.S.

International Trade Commission.

Axonics ( AXNX ) CEO Raymond Cohen said in a statement that he was

pleased with the verdict and that Medtronic's ( MDT ) lawsuit had been

meant to "stifle competition, limit patient and physician

choice, and protect the incumbent's monopoly in sacral

neuromodulation."

The companies both make medical devices that are implanted

into patients' lower backs to treat bladder and bowel control

issues by stimulating the sacral nerve. Medtronic ( MDT ) filed the

lawsuit in 2019, accusing Axonics' ( AXNX ) devices of using the same

nerve-stimulation technology as Medtronic's ( MDT ) InterStim system.

Axonics ( AXNX ) denied the allegations and argued that the three

patents at issue in the trial were invalid. The jury on

Wednesday upheld the patents' validity while finding that

Axonics' ( AXNX ) products did not infringe them.

Axonics ( AXNX ) separately sued Medtronic ( MDT ) in California federal

court in 2022, accusing the company of monopolizing the market

for the systems and making false statements about Axonics ( AXNX )

products. Medtronic ( MDT ) denied the claims, and the case is still

ongoing.

The case is Medtronic Inc v. Axonics Modulation Technologies

Inc, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California,

No. 8:19-cv-02115.

For Medtronic ( MDT ): Nimalka Wickramasekera, Brian Nisbet, George

Lombardi and Peggy Dayton of Winston & Strawn

For Axonics ( AXNX ): Matthew Powers, Aaron Nathan, Azra

Hadzimehmedovic and William Nelson of Tensegrity Law Group;

David Stein of Olson Stein

(Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington)