Breaking: UPC hits NanoString with European sales ban

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Gardens, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

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 SHARED ros bottom lb

More from across our site

Value-added services give in-house counsel the satisfaction that they are getting more value for money, while law firms get the opportunity to win more work
A team at Boies Schiller Flexner is advising shoe company Kizik and parent company HandsFree Labs in the dispute
Nokia’s latest enforcement actions against Geely and Transsion joining Via LA’s AAC pool were also among the top talking points
Benjamin Kelly, the firm’s fifth IP partner hire in a little over one year, has experience in patent and trade secret disputes involving complex technologies
Half-year Talent Tracker data shows Pierson Ferdinand was among the most prolific hirers in the US, while in Europe, there has been a notable UPC swing
Exclusive data reveals in-house counsel want external legal advisers to build better client relationships and add value beyond routine work
Brett Sandford acted for Perplexity AI, which fended off the threat of a preliminary injunction to launch an AI-powered web browser
Stephen Yang joins us for our ‘Five minutes with’ series to explain why his role requires him to wear many hats
The complaint follows a declaratory ruling issued by the England and Wales High Court last month that said Samsung is entitled to an interim licence
Tobias Hahn explains how the firm's multi-jurisdictional setup enabled it to secure an injunction on behalf of Fujifilm relating to defendant Kodak’s non-UPC activity
Gift this article