Breaking: UPC hits NanoString with European sales ban

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 4 Bouverie Street, London, EC4Y 8AX

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2024

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Breaking: UPC hits NanoString with European sales ban

Munich.jpg

The decision marks the first time the Unified Patent Court has issued a preliminary injunction after an oral hearing involving both sides in a dispute

The Unified Patent Court granted US biotech company 10x Genomics a preliminary injunction against rival NanoString today, September 19, in a major first for the new court.

Presiding Judge Matthias Zigann, who handed down the order, said the UPC would decide on another PI request on October 10.

It was initially expected that there would be a decision on both applications today.

NanoString can challenge today’s decision at the UPC Court of Appeal in Luxembourg.

The order marks the first time the UPC has issued a PI after hearing oral arguments between both parties in a dispute since the court started hearing cases in June.

The UPC previously issued an ex parte injunction in a dispute between Swiss bike manufacturers myStromer and Revolt Zycling.

Today’s order comes after a hearing at the Munich local division on September 6. Sources who attended that hearing had told Managing IP that an injunction was likely.

One of 10x’s lawyers, Bardehle Pagenberg partner Tilman Müller-Stoy, described the judges as among the best-prepared he had seen in his career after the hearing.

Zigann heard the case alongside three other judges – Tobias Pichlmaier, András Kupecz, and Eric Enderlin.

The PI is the second injunction 10x has obtained from a court in Germany against NanoString so far this year.

The Munich Regional Court issued an anti-anti-suit injunction against NanoString in April, believed to be the first order of its kind in a German life sciences suit.

The order forced NanoString to withdraw an anti-suit injunction it had filed at the US District Court for the District of Delaware.

more from across site and ros bottom lb

More from across our site

The High Court’s decision in WaterRower v Liking could have signalled the start of a new approach to determining whether designs can benefit from copyright protection
Maohua Wang, head of the IP group at King & Wood Mallesons in China, explains how the firm’s Eversheds deal affected the IP team and how his team meets clients’ litigation needs
Firms that advise generics businesses reflect on whether they’re seeing more aggressive tactics from innovators and how they’re managing their practices
Suspicions concerning AI in the legal space, and another copyright win for Ed Sheeran were among the biggest IP developments this week
Michael Sitzman, a life sciences litigator, explains how McDermott’s busy schedule at the UPC convinced him to join
The UK’s top court will hand down the decision next week, 17 months after hearing arguments in the crucial trademark dispute
Ceyda Maisami explains why HP is becoming more vocal in its SEP arguments and reveals why the company has transformed the way it engages with outside counsel
In the latest UPC update, we examine a ruling on director liability, another on the Gillette defence, and look ahead to cases concerning medical devices
Burak Yüceel outlines six characteristics that make a successful IP practitioner and explains why Alan Turing is an inspiration
Lawyers at Dentons unpick the findings of a survey that revealed that businesses tend to focus on reactive rather than proactive use of AI when performing IP evaluations
Gift this article