Latvia MGI Tech SIA & Ors (defendants/appellants) –v- Illumina Cambridge Ltd (claimant/respondent)
Tuesday 7th – Wednesday 8th December 2021
The Appellant/Defendant appeals the Order of Mr Justice Birss (sitting as a Judge of the High Court in Patents Court) dated 18 February 2021, making declaration as to validity of various European Patents.
Background
This is a patent action about DNA sequencing technology. The patentee (Illumina) holds patents which derive from work by Solexa, a spin out company from Cambridge University which Illumina bought in 2007. The defendants (MGI) are all companies in the Beijing Genomics Institute group. MGI seeks to sell DNA sequencing systems in the UK. Illumina contends that these systems infringe various of its patents. In general, MGI denies infringement of any valid claim and contends the patents are invalid. Following a launch last year, MGI gave undertakings limiting UK sales until the trial.
Lower Court Judgment:
View hearing:
Day 1
Day 2