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17 June 2021Big PharmaAlex Baldwin

Bio-Rad asks for review of DNA patent ruling

Bio-Rad has asked the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to review its prior decisions that affirmed Bio-Rad had infringed three 10X Genomics patents.

The pharmaceutical giant said that the panel overlooked certain employment agreements linked to joint inventorship of the three patents, calling for the Federal Circuit to review its prior decision to affirm the International Trade Commission (ITC) view that it had infringed on the patents.

The petition for panel rehearing (PACER), submitted on Friday, June 11, asks the Federal Circuit to “correct” its opinion as it goes against two prior precedential opinions made by the court of appeal through a reconsideration and en banc review.

Bio-Rad claimed that two of its scientists, Dr Hindson and Dr Saxonov developed a DNA sequencing invention that used droplets to isolate cells and tag nucleic acid sequences.  Both scientists left Bio-Rad mid-project and founded their own company 10X, where they filed for patents for a similar patent.

The ITC found that Bio-Rad had infringed on 10X’s patents, rejecting Bio-Rad’s defence that the employment agreements it had with the two scientists granted it a share of the patents as the invention was not finalised at the company.

Bio-Rad now claims that the ITC panel decision conflicts with Federal Circuit precedent that certain employment contracts are not just limited to a final patentable invention, citing Am Tel & Tel Co v Integrated Network Corp.

It also said that the decision conflicted with a joint inventorship ruling that “the contribution of a single idea” to a final invention can qualify for joint inventorship as seen in Vanderbilt Univ v ICOS Corp.

“Any conclusion that Hindson and Saxonov’s work at QuantaLife/BioRad did not meet the standard for joint inventorship is wrong as a matter of law,” Bio-Rad said.

This is one of many patent disputes between the two companies, earlier this month, the Federal Circuit upheld another ITC decision in a precedential ruling that found that 10X had infringed on two of Bio-Rad’s gene sequencing patents.

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26 July 2019   Bio-Rad, a developer of clinical diagnostic products, secured a permanent injunction against a competitor earlier this week in a long-running dispute.
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13 February 2020   US biotechnology company 10x Genomics has won an import ban against its rival Bio-Rad Laboratories in a long-running patent dispute.
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More on this story

Americas
26 July 2019   Bio-Rad, a developer of clinical diagnostic products, secured a permanent injunction against a competitor earlier this week in a long-running dispute.
Americas
13 February 2020   US biotechnology company 10x Genomics has won an import ban against its rival Bio-Rad Laboratories in a long-running patent dispute.
Biotechnology
29 July 2021   Bio-Rad Laboratories has settled its long-running dispute with 10X Genomics over patents covering genetic analysis tech and both companies have negotiated an agreement to cross-license their products.