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<CIK>0000711404
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<STATE-OF-INCORPORATION>DE
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<STREET1>6140 STONERIDGE MALL RD
<STREET2>STE 590
<CITY>PLEASANTON
<STATE>CA
<ZIP>94588
<PHONE>9254603600
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<DESCRIPTION>THE COOPER COMPANIES, INC.
<TEXT>



<PAGE>


================================================================================



                       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): October 3, 2002




                           THE COOPER COMPANIES, INC.

             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)


<TABLE>
<S>                            <C>                            <C>
         Delaware                         1-8597                          94-2657368
(State or other jurisdiction     (Commission File Number)      (IRS Employer Identification No.)
     of incorporation)
</TABLE>


       6140 Stoneridge Mall Road, Suite 590, Pleasanton, California 94588
                    (Address of principal executive offices)

                                 (925) 460-3600
              (Registrant's telephone number, including area code)


================================================================================




<PAGE>




ITEM 5.     Other Events.

On October 3, 2002, The Cooper Companies, Inc. issued a press release announcing
that its subsidiary, CooperVision, Inc., had reached a settlement of all
pending patent infringement litigation with CIBA Vision and its subsidiary
Wesley Jessen. A copy of this release is attached and incorporated by reference.

Internet addresses in the release are for information purposes only and are not
intended to be hyperlinks to other Cooper Companies information.

ITEM 7.     Financial Statements and Exhibits.

            (c) Exhibits.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
Exhibit
  No.       Description
-------     -----------
<S>         <C>
99.1        Press Release dated October 3, 2002 of The Cooper Companies, Inc.
</TABLE>





<PAGE>



                                    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/ Carol R. Kaufman
                                              ----------------------------------
                                              Carol R. Kaufman
                                              Vice President of Legal Affairs,
                                              Secretary and Chief Administrative
                                              Officer

Dated:  October 8, 2002




<PAGE>



                                  EXHIBIT INDEX


<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
Exhibit                                                                Sequentially
  No.          Description                                             Numbered Page
-------        -----------                                             --------------
<S>          <C>                                                      <C>
99.1           Press Release dated October 3, 2002 of The Cooper
               Companies, Inc.
</TABLE>




                          STATEMENT OF DIFFERENCES

The registered trademark symbol shall be expressed as........................'r'



</TEXT>
</DOCUMENT>
<DOCUMENT>
<TYPE>EX-99
<SEQUENCE>3
<FILENAME>ex99.txt
<DESCRIPTION>EXHIBIT 99.1
<TEXT>


<PAGE>



[COOPER-NYSE LOGO]                               [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 AND WESLEY JESSEN AGREE TO SETTLE PATENT SUITS

LAKE FOREST, Calif., October 3, 2002 -- The Cooper Companies, Inc. (NYSE:COO)
said today that it had reached a settlement of all pending patent infringement
litigation with CIBA Vision and its subsidiary Wesley Jessen. CIBA Vision and
Wesley Jessen had alleged that CooperVision's colored cosmetic contact lenses,
including Frequency'r' Colors and Expressions'r', infringed certain CIBA Vision
patents in the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, France and Germany.
Cosmetic lenses change or enhance the appearance of the color of the eye.

Terms of the settlement are confidential, but the agreement allows CooperVision
to continue selling its existing cosmetic lens products throughout the world.
CIBA Vision has agreed to license its color contact lens patents to CooperVision
in return for a royalty and a cross-license of some of CooperVision's
intellectual property rights.

Cooper's revenue and earnings guidance for 2002 and 2003 remains unchanged. For
fiscal 2002, Cooper estimates revenue between $312 million and $315 million and
earnings per share of $3.09 to $3.13. For fiscal 2003, Cooper estimates revenue
between $380 million and $400 million with earnings per share ranging from $3.95
to $4.05.

Forward-Looking Statements
--------------------------
Some of the information included in this news release contains "forward-looking
statements" as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Forward-looking statements include all statements regarding anticipated growth
in our revenue, anticipated market conditions and results of operations. To
identify forward-looking statements look for words like "believes," "expects,"
"may," "will," "should," "seeks," "intends," "plans," "estimates" or
"anticipates" and similar words or phrases. Discussions of strategy, plans or
intentions often contain forward-looking statements. These, and all
forward-looking statements, necessarily depend on assumptions, data or methods
that may be incorrect or imprecise.




<PAGE>


Events, among others, that could cause actual results and future actions to
differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements include
major changes in business conditions, a major disruption in the operations of
our manufacturing facilities, new competitors or technologies, the impact of an
undetected virus on our computer systems, acquisition integration delays or
costs, increases in interest rates, foreign currency exchange exposure,
investments in research and development and other start-up projects, dilution to
earnings per share from acquisitions or issuing stock, regulatory issues,
changes in tax laws, significant environmental cleanup costs above those already
accrued, litigation costs including any related settlements, cost of business
divestitures, the requirement to provide for a significant liability or to write
off a significant asset, changes in accounting principles or estimates, and
other factors described in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings,
including the "Business" section in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year
ended October 31, 2001. We caution investors that forward-looking statements
reflect our analysis only on their stated date. We disclaim any intent to update
them except as required by law.

About Cooper
------------
The Cooper Companies, Inc. and its subsidiaries develop, manufacture and market
specialty healthcare products. Corporate offices are in Lake Forest and
Pleasanton, Calif. A toll free interactive telephone system at 1-800-334-1986
provides stock quotes, recent press releases and financial data. Cooper's World
Wide Web address is www.coopercos.com.

CooperVision, Inc., markets a broad range of contact lenses for the vision care
market. Headquartered in Lake Forest, Calif., it manufactures in Huntington
Beach, Calif., Rochester, N.Y., Norfolk, Va., Adelaide, Australia, Farnborough
and Hamble, England, Madrid, Spain and Toronto. Its Web address is
www.coopervision.com.

CooperSurgical, Inc., with operations in Trumbull, Conn., Fort Atkinson, Wis.,
Malmo, Sweden, Montreal and Berlin, markets medical devices, diagnostic
products, surgical instruments and accessories for the gynecological market. Its
Web address is www.coopersurgical.com.

                                       ###




</TEXT>
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