BIODISCOVERY FILES $50 MILLION SUIT AGAINST QUANTARRAY MAKER FOR COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT AND SEEKS IMMEDIATE INJUNCTION
BioDiscovery Alleges GSI Lumonics Corporation Reverse Engineered Its Genetic Screening Software Program To Introduce A ?Copy Cat? Version
LOS ANGELES, CA - December 21, 1999
ImaGene software maker BioDiscovery announced that it filed suit yesterday in Los Angeles federal court against GSI Lumonics Corporation for copyright infringement, misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of confidentiality agreement, and unfair competition. BioDiscovery alleges that GSI Lumonics Corporation (NASDAQ: GSLI and TSE: LSI) knowingly breached their confidentiality agreement to reverse engineer and introduce a ?copy cat? version of the ImaGene software called QuantArray. General Scanning, Inc. is named as a co-defendant. Plaintiff is seeking to enjoin Defendants from infringing upon its copyright, and damages are projected in excess of $50 million. Judge Consuelo B. Marshall will preside over Shams v. GSI Lumonics Corporation [Case No. CV99-13272 CBM (Ctx)].
In July 1997, Soheil Shams, Ph.D. began doing business under the name BioDiscovery; and that August started development of software for a gene expression analysis program that became known as ImaGene. Dr. Shams holds US Copyright No. TX-4-876-396 for ImaGene, which was issued February 15, 1998 by the U.S. Registrar of Copyrights. ImaGene is an analysis application that, as a means of determining the vitality and well-being of selected genetic material, measures and quantifies a gene?s flourescent intensity; it is used to screen for known genetic defects and in genetic research.
In January 1998, Dr. Shams and defendant General Scanning, Inc. (now GSI Lumonics Corporation), entered into a confidentiality agreement. Under its terms, Defendants agreed that it would not copy, modify, reverse engineer or reverse compile ImaGene without Dr. Shams? written consent. In March 1998, Dr. Shams provided a nonexclusive license in ImaGene software to BioDiscovery, Inc., a California corporation. BioDiscovery, Inc. then entered into a nonexclusive contract with Defendants to distribute copies of ImaGene with the scanning equipment it sold.
Dr. Shams was told in May 1999 that Defendants were developing their own microarray software program. Defendants refused his request to see the product to determine if his copyrights in ImaGene were infringed. Finally, in September, Dr. Shams was permitted to see a small portion of the program, but not enough to make a determination that ImaGene had been copied. In October 1999, Dr. Shams received a telephone call from an ImaGene client informing him that he had received a free sample of QuantArray from Defendants. Upon reviewing QuantArray, Dr. Shams realized that it was a nearly identical copy of ImaGene. In an effort to amicably reach an accord, Dr. Shams entered into discussions with Defendants, whom he alleges gulled him into thinking there was such a possibility, and who then filed a declaratory relief action on December 10, 1999 in US District Court, District of Massachusetts GSI Lumonics, Inc. v. BioDiscover, Inc., No. 99CV12544WGY.
?The purpose of this lawsuit is to stop GSI Lumonics Corporation from profiting from predatory, deceptive business practices,? said Dr. Shams. ?They used the ruse of entering into a confidentiality agreement with me to acquire access to my ImaGene copyrighted software design. From that point on, it was a slam dunk for them to use reverse engineering to make and introduce their own copy cat product.?
?Healthy competition is one thing,? Dr. Shams said, ?but what GSI Lumonics has done constitutes an outright copying of the ImaGene software at the expense of my ideas and reputation in the biotech community. They would not deal fairly with me to resolve the matter, thinking that as a small fish in a big sea, I would back down. That is not the case, and that is why I am committed, just as David was against Goliath, to do whatever it takes to protect my interests as a copyright holder and to see that justice is ultimately served.?
Dr. Soheil Shams is president of BioDiscovery, which is based in Los Angeles, CA.. He has published over 25 scientific papers, and is a visiting lecturer at UCLA where he teaches courses in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Perception. GSI Lumonics, Inc. is a Michigan corporation and also exists under the laws of New Brunswick, Canada. General Scanning, Inc. is a Massachusetts corporation, with its principal place of business in Watertown, MA. Plaintiff is represented by Keyvan Samini with the law firm of Stephan, Oringher, Richman & Theodora in their Costa Mesa, CA. office; telephone (714) 241.0420.
For more information contact:
BioDiscovery, Inc.
Kathy Pinckert
Tel: 310.836.8355
biodiscovery.com |
