NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – PerkinElmer is suing Waters alleging infringement of two patents covering mass spectrometry technology.
The suit, filed in US District Court for the District of Massachusetts on Wednesday, claims Waters infringes US Patent Nos. 5,652,427 and 5,962,851. Both are titled "Multipole ion guide for mass spectrometry." According to the patents' abstracts the invention pertains to methods and devices that "improve performance and lower the cost of atmospheric pressure ion source mass spectrometer instruments."
Both patents were issued to inventors Craig Whitehouse and Erol Gulcicek and were initially assigned to Analytica of Branford, which PerkinElmer acquired in 2009. PerkinElmer alleges mass spec systems sold by Waters infringe the patents. They include Waters' line of Premier, Synapt, and Xevo instruments.
PerkinElmer is asking for damages and an injunction against Waters from further infringement.