EPO Revokes Applera s European Real-Time PCR Thermal Cycler Patent

NEW YORK, Dec. 10 (GenomeWeb News) - The European Patent Office has revoked an Applera patent covering real-time PCR thermal cycler technology, Applied Biosystem said today.

The agency, based in Munich, Germany, revoked European Patent No. 872562.

"We disagree with the EPO's ruling and will seek to have the patent reinstated through the appeal process," Catherine Burzik, president of ABI, said in a statement.

In June, ABI obtained injunctions from a German court that enjoined Bio-Rad Laboratories, MJ Research, and Biozym, an MJ Research distributor in Germany, from manufacturing and selling thermal cyclers for real-time PCR. The court found that the defendants infringed a German patent corresponding to European Patent No. 872562, issued to ABI's parent company Applera in September 2002.

The actions are part of a global effort by Applera to enforce its intellectual property in instrumentation used for real-time PCR.

In November, Applera received a US patent covering its real-time PCR instrumentation, and then filed suit on Bio-Rad, Bio-Rad subsidiary MJ Research, and Stratagene for allegedly infringing the patent.