Applied Biosystems Announces Developments in Two Proceedings

Applied Biosystems, an Applera business, recently announced developments in two separate legal proceedings.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut has issued an additional ruling in Applera's and Roche Molecular Systems' patent infringement litigation against MJ Research, a division of Bio-Rad Laboratories. The court -- based on the jury's April 2004 finding that MJ Research had willfully infringed patents relating to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) owned by Applied Biosystems and Roche -- increased damages awarded to Applied Biosystems and Roche to approximately $35 million, in addition to awarding reasonable attorneys' fees. The court also has dismissed all of MJ Research's antitrust counterclaims against Applied Biosystems and Roche.

In a separate legal proceeding, Applied Biosystems announced that the Japanese Patent Office has held invalid Applera's Japanese Patent No. 3136129 covering real-time PCR thermal cycler technology. Applera intends to appeal the decision.