MGI Sues Illumina for Patent Infringement in the United States

By Bio-IT World Staff 

May 29, 2019 | Complete Genomics Inc., a US subsidiary of MGI, has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Illumina in US District Court for the District of Delaware.

The lawsuit alleges that a number of genetic sequencers and related reagents from Illumina, including the NovaSeq 6000, NextSeq series, and MiniSeq, are infringing Complete Genomics’ U.S. Patent No. 9,222,132 ("132 Patent"). The patent covers proprietary two-color sequencing technology. Two-color sequencing technology is one of the core technologies for high-throughput, high-quality sequencing and a key technology in the DNBSEQ sequencing technology invented by Complete Genomics.

MGI is the sequencing equipment business subsidiary of BGI Group. Illumina filed its own patent infringement suit against BGI in Germany in March. 

“With our long-term investments, we have already established a patent portfolio in the field of gene sequencing, which is one of the core assets of MGI,” said Wei Wei, Vice President and General Counsel of BGI Group in a company statement. “Protecting intellectual property rights is an important foundation for us to continue to develop in the field of gene sequencing and to provide the industry with the core tools for life science and technology. We are confident in the value and strength of the patent portfolio of MGI. When necessary, we will protect our intellectual property rights worldwide. The current lawsuit demonstrates the serious attitude and firm confidence of MGI in protecting its intellectual property rights."