Becton, Dickinson and Company v. Beckman Coulter, Inc.

I. BACKGROUND

22 This is an action for patent infringement where Plaintiffs accuse Defendant 23 Beckman of infringing several of their patents. The asserted patents all relate to chemical 24 structures of fluorescent polymer dyes that are used in flow cytometry. The dyes allow 25 scientists to label and detect biological materials of interest in a sample, including small 26 populations of difficult to detect proteins and cells. ECF No. 1 at ¶ 2. The accused 27 products are Beckman’s polymer dye products, its SuperNova Fluorescent Polymer Dyes. 28 Id. at ¶ 4. II. DISCUSSION Discovery dispute No. 5 involves Beckman’s assertion of attorney client privilege regarding . Specifically, 5 6 Plaintiffs argue that the information they seek is relevant to Beckman’s claim that they did not copy the patented inventions and came up with their own design as a non- infringing alternative. ECF No. 217 at 2. Id. Beckman scientist Arunkumar Easwaran was questioned regarding this topic during his deposition. Id. 13 14 When probed further regarding the substance of the…