The High Court of Justice, Chancery Division, Patents Court has issued a judgment in the favor of Illumina, Inc. in the patent infringement suit filed against the BGI Companies, MGI Tech Co. Ltd; Latvia MGI SIA; MGI International Sales Co., Ltd; and BGI Complete Genomics Hong Kong Co., Ltd.
It will be recalled that the plaintiff filed a lawsuit in the California Northern District Court against BGI Companies, MGI Tech Co. Ltd; Latvia MGI SIA; MGI International Sales Co., Ltd; and BGI Complete Genomics Hong Kong Co., Ltd alleging that the defendants infringed its patent covering sequencing-by-synthesis chemistry, including its azidomethyl reversible terminator and labeled nucleotides.
In the initial lawsuit, the plaintiff reportedly sought a permanent injunction fully prohibiting the supply or sale of BGI’s StandardMPS and CoolMPS systems in the UK until the relevant patents expire.
In the judgment, the court reportedly found that four of the five asserted patents were valid and were infringed by BGI.
The Court ruled that BGI’s StandardMPS and CoolMPS systems infringe EP 1 530 537 B1, EP 3 002 289 B1, and EP 3 587 433 B1 and that StandardMPS also infringes EP 2 021 415 B1. These patents cover different aspects of Illumina’s proprietary sequencing-by-synthesis chemistry, including its azidomethyl reversible terminator and labeled nucleotides.
The Court had previously issued a preliminary injunction against BGI’s UK-based sequencing laboratory and restricted BGI’s ability to supply the infringing sequencing systems in the UK.
SVP and General Counsel for Illumina, Charles Dadswell reportedly said that “we are pleased with the Court’s decision. This adds to the growing list of courts around the world finding that BGI has misappropriated Illumina’s proprietary, groundbreaking technology. We will continue to vigorously protect our intellectual property from BGI’s willful infringement.”
The case is now closed.
Illumina Inc. et al v. BGI Genomics Co., Ltd. et al
| Judge: | William H Orrick |
| Court: | California Northern District Court |
| Case #: | 3:20-cv-01465 |
| Nature of Suit: | Patent |
| Cause: | Patent Infringement |
| Case Filed: | Feb 27, 2020 |
Be the first to comment