Washington, DC 9/20/18—In response to a complaint brought by Bio-Rad Laboratories and Lawrence Livermore National Security (see IBO 8/31/17), the US International Trade Commission (ITC) has ruled that 10x Genomics violated subsection (b) of Section 337 of the Tariff Act for importation for sale of certain microfluidic devices. The ITC has ruled that 10x Genomic infringed complainants’ US Patent Nos. 9,500,664 (Droplet Generation for Droplet-based Assays); 9,636,682 (System for Generating Droplets—Instruments and Cassette) and 9,649,635 (System for Generating Droplets with Push-back to Remove Oil). However, it was found that 10x Genomics did not infringe US Patent No. 9,126,160 (System for Generating Droplets with Push-back to Remove Oil). A recommendation for the remedy will be issued shortly.

The patents are also the subject of an infringement case filled last year by Bio-Rad against 10x Genomics in US District Court (see IBO 11/15/17). Although ITC cases cannot result in damage awards, they can lead to a restriction on imports of the infringing product.