Correction: This article has been corrected to relect that this is not a new suit, but rather a lawsuit that is a couple of years old that was transferred from Maryland to Texas. Court documents did not disclose that the suit was transferred, but rather was listed as a new filing.
NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – A lawsuit that Invitrogen, a division of Life Technologies, filed against GE Healthcare a couple of years ago alleging infringement of several patents held by Invitrogen has been transferred to a Texas court from Maryland.
The suit was transferred last week to the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. The suit is in addition to another patent infringement suit that Invitrogen brought against GE Healthcare last year.
In the suit that was transferred last week, Invitrogen claims that GE Healthcare, and unidentified defendants "Does 1 through 5," are infringing claims of six patents held by the firm. The patents — US Nos. 6,610,522; 6,589,768; 6,063,608; 5,668,005; 5,244,797; and 5,405,776 — cover reverse transcriptase technology incorporated into products sold by Invitrogen.
Invitrogen said that GE Healthcare and the other defendants are infringing the patents through the sale of reverse transcriptase enzymes and kits, including GE's CyScript-containing products.
Invitrogen claims it has "suffered and will continue to suffer substantial damage to its business in the form of lost profits" due to GE's alleged infringement of the patents.
The firm has asked the court to declare that it is the owner of the six patents named in the suit and that GE and the other defendants have infringed its patents. In addition, Invitrogen is asking the court to enjoin GE from selling products that infringe the '797 and '776 patents. It also is seeking damages, "not less than a reasonable royalty," and enhanced damages because the case is "exceptional" within the scope of the law.
Last year, Invitrogen sued GE Healthcare and unidentified defendants for alleged patent infringement. It filed a suit in the same Texas court last year claiming that GE was infringing its US Patent No. 5,043,272 through the sale of the Illustra GenomiPhi and TempliPhi amplification kits. That case is ongoing.