Telectronics Pacing Systems, Inc. v. Guidant Corp.

MURPHY, Circuit Judge.

This case involves an attempted transfer of rights under a patent licensing agreement. It was brought by certain companies involved in designing, manufacturing, and distributing cardiac stimulation devices (collectively the Telectronics Group and Pacesetter) against several competitors in the medical device business (collectively the Lilly Group) who had filed a state declaratory judgment action seeking a declaration that the attempted transfer was void. The Telectronics Group and Pacesetter sued in federal court to compel arbitration and to enjoin the state proceedings.…