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Applera and Bio-Rad Enter Settlement Discussions over Patent Infringement Lawsuit

16 Dec 2005 - Applera Corporation and Bio-Rad Laboratories announced both parties are conducting settlement discussions concerning the patent infringement lawsuit brought by Applera and Roche Molecular Systems (Roche) against MJ Research in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. The goal of these discussions is a resolution of all outstanding disputes in the U.S. between the two companies.
 
Applera Corporation and Roche Molecular Systems originally filed this patent infringement lawsuit in June 1998 against MJ Research relating to certain PCR patents owned by Applera and Roche, and a jury decided in favor of Applera and Roche in 2004. The Court also issued a permanent injunction in September 2005 prohibiting Bio-Rad, as the successor of MJ Research, from manufacturing, selling or servicing infringing thermal cycler products in the U.S. Various post-trial motions remain pending in the case.
 
No further details of the discussions have yet been made public.