NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) - Applera and Beckman Coulter said today that they have finalized the terms of a patent suit regarding Beckman Coulter's capillary electrophoresis technology and Applera's allegations of breach of contract.
The companies said that the terms of the agreement are "consistent" with those of a preliminary agreement that they disclosed in April.
At the time, the companies said that Beckman would grant Applera licenses to its patents for replaceable gels for capillary electrophoresis instruments and DNA sequencers, and to its patent for a heated lid for thermal cyclers. Applera would subsequently pay Beckman $35 million to "release ... any and all claims of infringement relating to DNA sequencer and thermal cycler products."
Under the preliminary terms, Applera also agreed to grant Beckman licenses to its patents for nucleic acid sequencing and real time PCR thermalcycling for use in the diagnostics market. Consequently, Beckman would pay Applera's Celera Genomic segment $20 million over 30 months for rights to use the technology in that market.