Press release dated April 01, 2025
On March 20, 2025, following a three-day hearing, the Opposition Division of the European Patent Office (“EPO”) dismissed the oppositions filed by NanoString Technologies Inc. (“NanoString”) and two other opponents, ruling in favor of the patent proprietor President and Fellows of Harvard College (“Harvard”) and the exclusive licensee 10x Genomics Inc. (“10x Genomics”). The EPO upheld unitary patent EP/UP 4 108 782 in slightly amended form. This is the first unitary patent ever asserted at the UPC and based on which the Munich Local Division granted a preliminary injunction against NanoString in September 2023, which was later lifted by the Court of Appeal, namely in February 2024, in view of validity concerns in the context of preliminary relief sought. This marks another significant victory for 10x Genomics in its ongoing international patent dispute with NanoString. Main infringement proceedings at the Munich Local Division, which were meanwhile stayed, will now resume and go to trial in September 2025 where 10x Genomics is seeking, inter alia, a permanent injunction.
10x Genomics is an innovative U.S.-based company specialized in life sciences. The company actively safeguards its pioneering intellectual property associated with its proprietary Xenium platform, which facilitates gene expression analysis in tissue.
The opponents requested the revocation of the patent in its entirety based on all available grounds arguing no less than four novelty objections, 24 inventive step attacks based on eight different documents as a starting point, eight inadmissible extension objections, and six enablement objections. Following the three-day hearing, the patent was upheld in slightly amended form (according to AR2).
NanoString filed its opposition in response to 10x Genomics and Harvard suing the company at the UPC in provisional measures and main infringement proceedings. This opposition is part of a global patent dispute encompassing Germany and the US and multiple infringement and revocation proceedings based on multiple patents.
Counsel for 10x Genomics: BARDEHLE PAGENBERG (Munich)
Dr. Axel Berger (German and European Patent Attorney, UPC Representative, Partner)
Prof. Dr. Tilman Müller-Stoy (Attorney-at-Law, Certified IP Lawyer, Commercial Mediator (MuCDR), Partner)
Dr. Tobias Wuttke (Attorney-at-Law, UPC Representative, Partner)
Dr. Kerstin Galler (Attorney-at-Law, UPC Representative, Counsel)
Dr. Markus Ackermann (German and European Patent Attorney, UPC Representative, Senior Associate)
Dr. Martin Drews (Attorney-at-Law, UPC Representative, Counsel)
Monika Harten, LL.M. (Attorney-at-Law, UPC Representative, Associate)
Counsel for NanoString: Bird&Bird (Düsseldorf/Munich)
Dr. Daniela Kinkeldey (German and European Patent Attorney, UPC Representative)
Oliver Jüngst, LL.M. (Attorney-at-Law, UPC Representative)
Dr. Jan van Dieck (German and European Patent Attorney, UPC Representative)
Dr. Moritz Schroeder (Attorney-at-Law, UPC Representative)
Opposition Division of the EPO
Chair: Anne-Christin Tilkorn
First Examiner: Thomas Leber
Second Examiner: Véronique H. Fischer
