Complete Genomics, a U.S. affiliate of MGI, has filed a patent infringement counterclaim against Illumina in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

The lawsuit, filed September 30, alleges that Illumina and its customers are using various gene sequencers and related reagents, including NovaSeq 6000, HiSeq X Ten, HiSeq 3000, and HiSeq 4000, that infringe Complete Genomics' U.S. Patent No. 9,944,984 ("984 patent"). The patent covers MGI's proprietary Patterned Array technology ("Patterned Array"). Complete Genomics seeks damages and an injunction, which would require Illumina to stop selling the infringing products and provide infringement compensation.

In May of this year, Complete Genomics sued Illumina in U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, alleging infringement of Complete Genomics’ two-color sequencing technology patent (U.S. Patent No. 9,222,132), which involves various Illumina genetic sequencers and related reagents.

MGI is one of the world's leading manufacturers of high-throughput genetic sequencers. Regarding the second patent infringement lawsuit against Illumina in the United States, Wei Wei, Vice President, board Secretary and General Counsel of MGI, said: "MGI has a core patent portfolio in the field of gene sequencing, and we are committed to protecting its intellectual property assets on a global scale."

Patterned Array technology is one of the underlying technologies for high-throughput, high-quality gene sequencing, and one of the key technologies in MGI's DNBSEQ™ sequencing technology.