Press Release
SOURCE: Caliper Technologies Corp.
Caliper Announces Favorable Markman Ruling in 'Ramsey' Patent Infringement Case Against Aclara
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Dec. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Caliper Technologies Corp. (Nasdaq: CALP - news) announced today that the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has issued its ruling setting forth the meaning of claims of the five ``Ramsey'' patents (U.S. Patent Nos. 5,858,195; 6,001,229; 6,010,607; 6,010,608; and 6,033,546) asserted by Caliper against Aclara BioSciences (Nasdaq: ACLA - news). The ruling has accepted Caliper's interpretation of the majority of key terms in the patent claims, reinforcing the company's position that Aclara infringes the claims of the ``Ramsey'' patents.
For example, the court agreed with Caliper's interpretation of the concept of ``pinched injections,'' one of the processes covered by the Ramsey patents, rejecting Aclara's contention that the term only includes injections employing equal, opposing forces. The court also accepted Caliper's broad definition of ``material'' that may be moved in microfluidic devices as encompassing more than simply fluids and ions, as Aclara had argued.
The court further accepted Caliper's definition of ``intersection'' to mean the region where two or more channels overlap, rather than limiting it to a single point, as Aclara had argued. However, the court declined to expand the definition of the term ``intersection'' in and of itself to encompass the region between the two intersections in a ``double-T'' structure. Nonetheless, Caliper believes that devices employing such structures are still covered by claims of the Ramsey patents.
``We believe that this ruling provides a strong foundation for pursuing our patent infringement suit against Aclara and we intend to do so vigorously,'' said Dan Kisner, M.D., Caliper's President and Chief Executive Officer. ``This case is proceeding in accordance with our plans and expectations. Based on the court's interpretation of these highly technical terms, we believe that the scope of all of the asserted claims remains very broad and that Aclara is infringing the Ramsey patents.''
The ``Ramsey'' patents are owned by UT-Battelle, LLC and are licensed to Caliper. The patents were issued to Dr. J. Michael Ramsey of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. >>snip<<
[Gotta hand it to Aclara for taking its lumps with a stiff upper lip. But ouch, calp is piling it on.] |
