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Federal Court Denies Agilent Motion to Dismiss GTG's Patent Infringement Lawsuit

NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Genetic Technologies today said that a US federal court has denied a motion by Agilent Technologies to dismiss a lawsuit in which GTG accused Agilent of infringing its primary non-coding DNA patent.

Agilent had filed its motion for dismissal, saying US Patent No. 5,612,179 held by GTG covered natural phenomena or laws of nature and therefore could not be patented. The US District Court for the Northern District of California issued an order last week denying Agilent's request, GTG said.

The Australian firm sued Agilent in 2011, as well as a number of other firms, accusing them of infringing the '179 patent. The lawsuit was originally filed in the US District Court for the District of Colorado and was moved to the California court at the request of Agilent.

"With the removal of what some potential licensees have apparently used as a reason to delay settlement discussions, we trust that good faith negotiations will now resume in earnest," GTG Acting CEO Tom Howitt said in a statement.

On deadline, Agilent did not respond to a request for comment.

Today's announcement follows a ruling by the US Patent and Trademark Office last month upholding certain claims of the '179 patent.