Illumina, Inc. v. Qiagen, N.V.

ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION

INTRODUCTION

In this patent infringement action involving DNA sequencing technology, the patent owner moves for a preliminary injunction. For the reasons stated below, the motion for a preliminary injunction is Granted.

STATEMENT

Plaintiff Illumina Cambridge, Inc., owns U.S. Patent No. 7,566,537, which covers “Labelled Nucleotides.” Plaintiff Illumina, Inc., is the exclusive licensee of the ’537 patent. Illumina and Illumina Cambridge (collectively, “Illumina”) sell DNA sequencing equipment that practices the ’537 patent (Van Oene Deck ¶ 6).

Defendant Qiagen N.V. and several of its subsidiaries, defendants Qiagen GmbH, Qiagen Gaithersburg, Inc., Qiagen Sciences, LLC, Qiagen Inc. (USA), Qiagen Redwood City, Inc., and Intelligent Bio-Systems, Inc. (collectively, “Qiagen”), jointly developed and announced the launch of a competing product, the GeneR-eader NGS System, with plans to begin distribution later this year. Illumina now seeks to enjoin sales of Qiagen’s GeneR-eader products.

Before discussing the details of the technology at issue herein, some background on the science of DNA is necessary.

1. DNA.

DNA, which stands for…