Alleged Inappropriate Conduct In Another Litigation Does Not Support Award Of Enhanced Damages
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    01/22/2025
    On May 6, 2021, plaintiffs sued defendants for patent infringement in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware.  The parties are biotechnology companies and competitors that offer tools for studying genetic material on a cellular level, including competing sequencing-based tools for performing spatial analyses of biological molecules.  After prevailing a trial, plaintiffs brought a motion for enhanced damages and attorneys’ fees, which the court denied.  10x Genomics, Inc., et al. v. Bruker Spatial Biology, Inc., Case No. 21 C 653 (D. Del. Dec. 23, 2024). 

    The asserted patents at issue cover assay systems that provide high-resolution spatial maps of biological activity in tissues. The patented invention allows the simultaneous analysis of multiple biological targets via next-generation sequencing.  The invention provides the ability to create a high-resolution spatial map of a tissue sample by introducing reagents that bond with complementary DNA or RNA molecules or proteins that can later be decoded through a sequencing process.

    A five-day trial commenced on November 13, 2023, wherein the jury found that defendants willfully infringed 10x’s asserted patents.  The jury awarded plaintiffs over $25 million in lost profits and over $6 million in royalties. Following the jury verdict, amongst other motions, plaintiffs moved for enhancement of damages and attorneys’ fees.  In support of their motion, plaintiffs argued that defendants’ allegedly inappropriate conduct in litigation before the Unified Patent Court in Europe, including violating injunctions, would qualify as egregious conduct.

    On December 23, 2024, Judge Kennelly issued an order denying plaintiffs’ motion for enhanced damages and attorneys’ fees.  The court reasoned that enhanced damages are concerned with the conduct associated with the case at hand, and are not related to defendants’ conduct in other proceedings.  Moreover, the Court found that defendants’ litigation strategies, including rehashing losing positions, were not undertaken for any purpose other than as routine litigation tactics.  The Court also found that defendants were not motivated to harm plaintiffs, as opposed to their behavior being consistent with that of a rival in a nascent market.
    Category: Enhanced Damages

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