Applied Biosystems Announces Developments in Two Separate Legal Proceedings.FOSTER CITY, Calif. -- Applied Biosystems (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :ABI Abi (ā`bī) [short for Abijah], in the Bible, King Hezekiah's mother. (Application Binary Interface) A specification for a specific hardware platform combined with the operating system. ) --U.S. District Court Awards Increased Damages to Applied Biosystems and Roche Molecular Systems in MJ Research Patent Infringement patent infringement n. the manufacture and/or use of an invention or improvement for which someone else owns a patent issued by the government, without obtaining permission of the owner of the patent by contract, license or waiver. Litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. --Applied Biosystems Receives Decision From Japanese Patent Office Regarding Real-Time PCR PCR polymerase chain reaction. PCR abbr. polymerase chain reaction Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) Thermal Cycler Technology Applied Biosystems (NYSE:ABI), an Applera Corporation business, today announced developments in two separate legal proceedings All actions that are authorized or sanctioned by law and instituted in a court or a tribunal for the acquisition of rights or the enforcement of remedies. . The U.S. District Court in New Haven, CT has issued an additional ruling in Applera's and Roche Molecular Systems' patent infringement litigation against MJ Research, a division of Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (AMEX AMEX See: American Stock Exchange : BIO). The Court, based on the jury's April 2004 finding that MJ Research had willfully willfully adv. referring to doing something intentionally, purposefully and stubbornly. Examples: "He drove the car willfully into the crowd on the sidewalk." "She willfully left the dangerous substances on the property." (See: willful) infringed patents relating to polymerase chain reaction polymerase chain reaction (pŏl`ĭmərās') (PCR), laboratory process in which a particular DNA segment from a mixture of DNA chains is rapidly replicated, producing a large, readily analyzed sample of a piece of DNA; the process is (PCR) owned by Applied Biosystems and Roche Molecular Systems (Roche), increased damages awarded to Applied Biosystems and Roche to approximately $35 million, in addition to awarding reasonable attorneys' fees. The Court also has dismissed all of MJ Research's antitrust counterclaims against Applied Biosystems and Roche. Applied Biosystems Group has filed for an injunction against further infringement by MJ Research, including an injunction against sales of MJ Research thermal cycler products. "The Court's ruling complements the earlier jury verdict, and further validates the strength of our intellectual property portfolio and our contributions to the development of PCR technology," said Catherine M. Burzik, President of Applied Biosystems. "We will continue to license our technology under suitable circumstances and defend our intellectual property." As previously announced, the jury awarded damages in the amount of $19.8 million to Applied Biosystems and Roche. MJ Research filed for bankruptcy court bankruptcy court n. the specialized Federal court in which bankruptcy matters under the Federal Bankruptcy Act are conducted. There are several bankruptcy courts in each state, and each one's territory covers several counties. protection on March 29, 2004, and was acquired by Bio-Rad Laboratories in August 2004. Applera and Roche originally filed this patent infringement case in the U.S. District Court in Connecticut in June 1998. MJ Research counterclaimed that Applera Corporation licensed and enforced these patents through anticompetitive an·ti·com·pet·i·tive adj. That discourages competition among businesses: anticompetitive foreign trade restrictions. conduct, in violation of federal and state antitrust laws. The Court rejected MJ Research's counterclaims, and found that Applera did not violate any federal or state antitrust laws. In a separate legal proceeding, Applied Biosystems today announced that the Japanese Patent Office has held invalid Applera's Japanese Patent No. 3136129 covering real-time PCR thermal cycler technology. Applera intends to appeal the decision. "We are disappointed that the Japanese Patent Office has ruled that an unpublished paper by a German professor that was brought to light after the patent filing constitutes prior art. As in Europe, where the European Patent Office reached a similar judgment last December, we vigorously disagree with this ruling," said Catherine M. Burzik, President of Applied Biosystems. "Importantly, our issued U.S. patent covering real-time PCR thermal cycler technology remains in place and, due to differences between U.S. and foreign patent law, we are confident that the alleged prior art should not jeopardize the validity of the U.S. patent." PCR, a technology for amplifying nucleic acids (DNA DNA: see nucleic acid. DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid One of two types of nucleic acid (the other is RNA); a complex organic compound found in all living cells and many viruses. It is the chemical substance of genes. or RNA RNA: see nucleic acid. RNA in full ribonucleic acid One of the two main types of nucleic acid (the other being DNA), which functions in cellular protein synthesis in all living cells and replaces DNA as the carrier of genetic ), is an enabling technology for biological research. First-generation PCR is a process in which a segment of a nucleic acid is copied or "amplified" multiple times by alternate heating and cooling so that the nucleic acid can be more readily analyzed. Real-time PCR instruments permit the collection of data during the amplification protocol, thereby facilitating gene expression quantitation and other important applications in biological research and standardized testing. About Applera Corporation and Applied Biosystems Applera Corporation consists of two operating groups. The Applied Biosystems Group serves the life science industry and research community by developing and marketing instrument-based systems, consumables, software, and services. Customers use these tools to analyze nucleic acids (DNA and RNA), small molecules, and proteins to make scientific discoveries, develop new pharmaceuticals, and conduct standardized testing. Applied Biosystems is headquartered in Foster City, CA, and reported sales of $1.7 billion during fiscal 2004. The Celera Genomics Group (NYSE:CRA See Community Reinvestment Act. ) is engaged principally in the discovery and development of targeted therapeutics for cancer, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Celera Genomics is leveraging its proteomic, bioinformatic, and genomic capabilities to identify and validate drug targets, and to discover and develop small molecule therapeutics. It is also seeking to advance therapeutic antibody and selected small molecule drug programs in collaboration with global technology and market leaders. Celera Diagnostics, a 50/50 joint venture between Applied Biosystems and Celera Genomics, is focused on discovery, development, and commercialization of diagnostic products. Information about Applera Corporation, including reports and other information filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, is available at http://www.applera.com, or by telephoning 800-762-6923. Information about Applied Biosystems is available at http://www.appliedbiosystems.com/. Copyright(C) 2005. Applera Corporation. All rights reserved. Applied Biosystems is a registered trademark and Applera, Celera, Celera Diagnostics, and Celera Genomics are trademarks of Applera Corporation or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and/or certain other countries. |
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