NEW YORK, April 23 – Mass spectrometer developer Bruker Daltonics said Monday that the United States District Court of the District of Massachusetts has allowed its summary judgment motion of non-infringement of a Thermo Finnigan patent.
Thermo Finnigan had previously sued Bruker for infringing on its patent for its ion trap mass spectrometry, and more specifically on its mass selective instability scan. Bruker argued that its esquire ion trap mass spectrometers uses a non-linear resonance ejection scan for unsurpassed resolution, speed and sensitivity.
"The resonance ejection technique used by the esquire device is specifically excluded from the scope of [the '884 patent]," found Judge Richard Stearns.
Earlier this month a German court ruled Thursday that Thermo Finnigan's GCQ and LCQ ion traps infringe upon Bruker Daltonics’ European patent for ion trap mass spectrometry and ordered Thermo Finnigan to pay Bruker damages and court costs.
Bruker is currently also fighting an antitrust case in Boston against Thermo Finnigan.