Caliper, Aclara settle lab-on-chip litigation
Under the settlement, Caliper's glass chips and related instruments will be able to operate under Aclara's '022 family of patents, including the '015 and other patents, through a fully paid, royalty-free license.
Aclara will pay Caliper $37.5 million over the next three years in a combination of stock, cash, and committed minimum royalties.
Aclara will also license Caliper's "Ramsey" family of patents for its polymer chips and related instruments in exchange for license fees and royalties.
The two companies also agreed to an alternative dispute resolution procedure for handling potential future patent disagreements out of court.
"This settlement is an extremely positive outcome for Caliper and its stockholders, and accomplishes all of our objectives in these matters," says company president/CEO Dan Kisner.
"The settlement eliminates the '015 patent and future patents in this family as a potential threat to our freedom to operate, and provides compensation related to our state court action.
"At the same time, it affirms both the integrity and the commercial value of our Ramsey patent estate's broad coverage of fluidic control at intersections on microfluidic chips and provides for recurring license revenue to Caliper."
Caliper's LabChip technology enables experiments that ordinarily require laboratories full of equipment and people to be conducted on a chip small enough to fit in the palm of a child's hand. The chip contains a network of microscopic channels that move fluids and chemicals electrostatically in order to perform experiments.
The system promises to streamline and accelerate laboratory experimentation. Potential uses range from pharmaceuticals and chemicals through agriculture and diagnostics.
To read more about the litigation between the companies, click here.
Edited by Alan S. Brown
Managing Editor, Chemical Online
abrown@vertical.net
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