================================================================================ SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 FORM 8-K CURRENT REPORT Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): July 12, 2001 THE COOPER COMPANIES, INC. (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) Delaware 1-8597 94-2657368 (State or other jurisdiction (Commission File Number) (IRS Employer Identification No.) of incorporation) 6140 Stoneridge Mall Road, Suite 590, Pleasanton, California 94588 (Address of principal executive offices) (925) 460-3600 (Registrant's telephone number, including area code) ================================================================================

ITEM 5. Other Events. On July 12, 2001, The Cooper Companies, Inc. issued a press release announcing action taken by the German Patent Court involving a subsidiary of the Company. This release is filed as an exhibit hereto and is incorporated by reference herein. Any Internet addresses provided in this release are for information purposes only and are not intended to be hyperlinks. Accordingly, no information in any of these Internet addresses is included herein. ITEM 7. Financial Statements and Exhibits. (c) Exhibits. Exhibit No. Description - ------- ----------- 99.1 Press Release dated July 12, 2001 of The Cooper Companies, Inc.

SIGNATURE Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized. THE COOPER COMPANIES, INC. By /s/ Stephen C. Whiteford ----------------------------------------- Stephen C. Whiteford Vice President and Corporate Controller (Principal Accounting Officer) Dated: July 13, 2001

EXHIBIT INDEX Exhibit Sequentially No. Description Numbered Page - ------- ----------- ------------- 99.1 Press Release dated July 12, 2001 of The Cooper Companies, Inc. STATEMENT OF DIFFERENCES The trademark symbol shall be expressed as..................................'TM'


[LOGO] [THE COOPER COMPANIES LOGO] 21062 Bake Parkway, Suite 200 Lake Forest, CA 92630 888-822-2660 Fax:(949) 597-0662 NEWS RELEASE CONTACT: Norris Battin The Cooper Companies, Inc. ir@coopercompanies.com FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE COOPER COMPANIES' GERMAN DISTRIBUTOR TO RESUME SALE OF COSMETIC LENSES AS COURT FINDS CIBA VISION PATENT INVALID IN GERMANY - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAKE FOREST, Calif., July 12, 2001 -- The Cooper Companies, Inc. (NYSE:COO) said today that the Munich Patent Court had issued a judgment against Pilkington Barnes Hind, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CIBA Vision, in proceedings brought by Cooper's CL Tinters OY unit and Bach Optic GmbH, CL Tinters' German distributor. The court, citing existing prior art in the field, found the European "Rawlings" patent invalid in Germany and lifted the order restraining the sale of CL Tinters' Images'TM' brand of cosmetic colored contact lenses entered last September. The Rawlings patent and the Images'TM' contact lenses are not currently the subject of any other litigation between the companies. CIBA Vision is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Novartis AG. # # # #