Qiagen Preliminarily Enjoined from Selling DNA Sequencing Equipment​

The court granted plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction to preclude the sales of defendant's DNA sequencing products and found that plaintiffs established irreparable harm. "The market for DNA sequencing in clinical laboratories is expected to grow substantially in the near future, and [defendant] has a foothold in that market due to its other product lines. Now, as the doors to the market have swung open, [defendant] seeks to usurp [plaintiffs'] position in that market with pirated technology. Moreover, potential customers cannot easily be recovered, inasmuch as laboratories purchase new DNA-sequencing equipment infrequently and irregularly, in part because laboratories must win government approval for use of any new DNA-sequencing equipment. . . . At this crucial inflection point in the development of the market for DNA sequencing equipment for clinical laboratories, [plaintiffs] would suffer irreparable harm if [defendant] were allowed to capture and define the market with pirated technology alongside its preexisting relationships and disruptive business model."

Illumina, Inc. et al v. QIAGEN, NV et al, 3-16-cv-02788 (CAND September 9, 2016, Order) (Alsup, USDJ)