NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – OraSure Technologies announced today that its subsidiary DNA Genotek has settled lawsuits it had filed against Ancestry.com and contract manufacturer Spectrum Solutions over saliva DNA collection kits.
According to OraSure, Ancestry.com has agreed to pay DNA Genotek $12.5 million to settle the dispute.
Additionally, DNA Genotek has granted Ancestry.com a royalty-bearing, non-exclusive, worldwide license to certain of its intellectual property related to the collection of DNA from human saliva for use in its genetic testing services and products. The license is limited to saliva DNA collection kits sold or used as part of Ancestry's genetic testing service offerings and does not cover the sale or use of product outside of Ancestry's business, DNA Genotek noted.
Ancestry.com has also provided a royalty-free, non-exclusive license to patents covering its existing saliva DNA collection kit to DNA Genotek.
According to DNA Genotek, it had been providing Ancestry.com with saliva DNA collection kits for a number of years beginning in 2012. However, Ancestry.com later misappropriated DNA Genotek technology to develop and patent its own saliva DNA collection kit. In 2015, DNA Genotek sued Ancestry.com for patent infringement and breach of contract.
The next year, DNA Genotek sued Ancestry.com's contract manufacturer Spectrum for making saliva DNA collection kits that allegedly infringed its IP.
According to OraSure, the settlement releases all parties from claims filed against them and provides for the dismissal of all pending lawsuits and patent reexamination requests. Additional terms of the deal were not disclosed.
"We are pleased to have resolved this litigation," OraSure President and CEO Douglas Michels said in a statement. "We are committed to innovation and the creation of new products and solutions for customers in the markets that we serve. An important part of this commitment is the protection of our technology and products and we will remain vigilant in seeking to enforce our intellectual property rights where needed."