Another kind of "collaboration" for INCY (owns Synteni.)
It seems logical to combine the claims construction. It appears that HYSQ's suit against AFFX may be the next result.
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siliconinvestor.com
Hyseq to Participate in Initial Claims Construction Hearing In Affymetrix, Inc. v. Synteni, Inc. Litigation
SUNNYVALE, Calif., Oct. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyseq, Inc. (Nasdaq: HYSQ) announced today that the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has decided on its own volition to consolidate the claims construction hearing and technology tutorial in the case of Affymetrix, Inc. v. Hyseq, Inc. with those in case of Affymetrix v. Synteni, Inc. in order to ease the burden on the parties and the Court. The Court has set separate trial dates for the two cases, with the Hyseq case currently scheduled to be tried in October 2000, after the trial of Affymetrix v. Synteni, Inc. Hyseq believes that this procedural ruling will benefit Hyseq by allowing it to participate in the first interpretation of these claims rather than having a later hearing on claims construction after the Court had considered arguments in the case of Affymetrix v. Synteni, Inc. The separate patent infringement lawsuit of Hyseq v. Affymetrix, filed by Hyseq in March 1997, is further advanced than the case subject to the hearing today and a Markman hearing result is expected in that case soon.
"Hyseq is pleased with the Court's decision to consolidate these procedural aspects of the two cases because it gives us an opportunity to participate in the Court's initial evaluation of the claims commonly asserted against Hyseq and Synteni in these two cases," said Lewis S. Gruber, Hyseq's President and Chief Executive Officer. "Although there are differences in the patents and claims in the two cases, a consolidated hearing will allow Hyseq to present its interpretation simultaneously to the Court rather than presenting after the Court has considered arguments in the other case," Mr. Gruber continued.
Claim construction is the legal determination of the meaning and scope of a patent's claims. In a claim construction hearing, known as a Markman hearing, the judge construes claims so that a jury can then apply this claim construction to the products of a defendant in a patent infringement suit.
On August 18, 1998, Affymetrix filed suit against the Company alleging that the Company infringed two of Affymetrix' U.S. patents, No. 5,795,716 and 5,744,305 (Case No. C-98-013192 FMS). This action was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose Division. Affymetrix filed an amended complaint on September 1, 1998 alleging infringement of another U.S. Patent, No. 5,800,992. The Company believes that the suit is without merit and intends to vigorously defend the action. However, the litigation is at a very early stage and it is impossible to predict the ultimate outcome of this matter. On June 30, 1999, the Court granted Hyseq's motion for a 120-day extension to the case management schedule. On July 1, 1999, Judge Fern Smith, to whom the case was assigned, began a planned leave of absence from the bench in the Northern District. On August 19, 1999, the parties were informed that the case was reassigned to Judge William H. Alsup in the Northern District of California. On September 21, 1999, Judge Alsup asked the parties for their positions on the appropriateness of consolidating the claims construction hearing and technology tutorial in this case with those in the case of Affymetrix v. Synteni, Inc.
Hyseq is a biopharmaceutical company with a growing pipeline of therapeutic and diagnostic product candidates for meeting medical and healthcare needs. Hyseq's business includes discovery of therapeutic targets for its corporate partners using proprietary genomics technologies, facilitation of drug development for its corporate partners through pharmacogenomics/polymorphism programs, and commercialization of DNA analysis tools such as the HyChip(TM) universal DNA sequencing chip. Information about Hyseq is available on the World Wide Web at www.hyseq.com or by phoning 408-524-8100. GeneSolutions Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hyseq, offers genomic resources to pharmaceutical and biomedical researchers on the World Wide Web at www.genesolutions.com.
Statements included in this press release which are not historical in nature, are intended to be, and are hereby identified as "forward-looking statements" for purposes of the safe harbor provided by the Private Securities Litigation Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words including "anticipate," "believe," "intends," "estimates," "expect" and similar expressions. The Company cautions readers that forward-looking statements, including without limitation, those relating to the Company's future business prospects are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. For a discussion of factors that may cause results to differ, see the Company's reports filed with the SEC, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1998. Hyseq disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
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