Munich court rules for Bio-Rad in 10x Genomics dispute
California-based Bio-Rad Laboratories has obtained an injunction from a German court in its long-running dispute with US biotechnology company 10x Genomics.
In a filing with the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) submitted on November 25, 10x said that the Munich Regional Court had ruled in Bio-Rad’s favour in a dispute over 10x’s chromium instruments, GEM microfluidic chips, and other accessories.
Bio-Rad said these products infringed its German utility model registration (DE 20 2011 110 979). The company filed the suit in February this year.
According to the SEC filing, the Munich court ruled last week that the 10x products infringed the German utility model, and issued an injunction barring their sale and importation in the country.
The court also ruled that 10x must pay damages, although these were not specified in the filing.
10x will pay statutory costs of at least €61,000 ($67,107).
The news marks the latest in a string defeat of 10x Genomics. In July, Bio-Rad obtained another patent injunction against the company, in this case from the US District Court for the District of Delaware.
Just last month, 10x agreed to pay $25 million to Becton Dickinson as part of a settlement to end all worldwide litigation between the two parties.
The settlement will comprise of annual payments of $6.25 million over four years, beginning January 2020.
Becton Dickinson alleged that 10x infringed 11 of its patents, covering single molecule digital counting and single-cell multiplex platforms.
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