Illumina Files Patent Infringement Suit Against BGI In Germany

By Bio-IT World Staff

March 29, 2019 | Illumina announced that it has filed a patent infringement suit against BGI Group's subsidiary, Latvia MGI Tech SIA, in the Düsseldorf Regional Court in Germany. The complaint alleges that BGI's sequencing products, including the BGISeq-500, MGISeq-2000, and related chemistry reagents, infringe EP 1 530 578 B1. This patent covers Illumina's proprietary sequencing-by-synthesis chemistry.

The '578 patent is one of numerous patents that protect Illumina's sequencing technology. Its validity has been affirmed by the European Patent Office in opposition proceedings. Similarly, the US counterpart to the '578 patent was upheld by the US Patent Trial and Appeal Board over challenges filed by BGI and its subsidiary, Complete Genomics, in Inter Partes Review Nos. IPR2017-02172 and IPR2017-02174.

"Illumina will not tolerate the unauthorized, infringing use of its patented technology,” Charles Dadswell, Senior Vice President and General Counsel for Illumina, said in an official statement.  “Illumina filed this suit to defend the substantial investments we have made in our industry leading sequencing technology, as validated in our global intellectual property portfolio. We will continue to monitor the field and file patent suits where appropriate when our patents are infringed."