Illumina, Inc ("Illumina") & Ors v Illumina, Inc & Ors [2016] EWHC 3345 (Pat) (16 December 2016)

Illumina, Inc ("Illumina") & Ors v Illumina, Inc & Ors [2016] EWHC 3345 (Pat) (16 December 2016)

At this preliminary stage, disclosure of the unredacted PPA is akin to pre-action disclosure and is solely to enable the defendant to plead its case; permitting collateral use for submissions to the Commission would undermine the collateral purpose rule and public policy, and is not justified absent live competition issues in the proceedings.

Citation
[2016] EWHC 3345 (Pat)
Parties
Claimant: Illumina, Inc.; Claimant: Verinata Health Inc; Claimant: Sequenom Inc; Claimant: The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University; Claimant: The Chinese University of Hong Kong; Defendant: Premaitha Health PLC
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
16 December 2016
Procedural Posture
Patent and Competition Law / Ruling on Disclosure Application Prior to Determination of Permission to Plead Competition Law Defences
Outcome
Application for collateral use of disclosed document refused; claimants awarded costs of this dispute.
Legal Topics
Disclosure, Collateral Purpose Rule, Confidentiality Rings, Competition Law Defences, Patent Litigation
Intellectual Property Competition Law Civil Procedure Disclosure Collateral Purpose Rule Confidentiality Rings Competition Law Defences Patent Litigation

Case Brief

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Parties

Illumina, Inc.

Claimant

Verinata Health Inc

Claimant

Sequenom Inc

Claimant

The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University

Claimant

The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Claimant

Premaitha Health PLC

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Patent and Competition Law / Ruling on Disclosure Application Prior to Determination of Permission to Plead Competition Law Defences

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the defendant may use confidential documents disclosed in these proceedings for submissions to the European Commission
  2. 2 Whether an exception to the collateral purpose rule should be granted at this stage

Ratio Decidendi

At this preliminary stage, disclosure of the unredacted PPA is akin to pre-action disclosure and is solely to enable the defendant to plead its case; permitting collateral use for submissions to the Commission would undermine the collateral purpose rule and public policy, and is not justified absent live competition issues in the proceedings.

Court Disposition

Application for collateral use of disclosed document refused; claimants awarded costs of this dispute.

Orders

  • Claimants to disclose unredacted PPA within confidentiality ring for purposes of these proceedings only.
  • Defendant's advisers not permitted to use the PPA for submissions to the European Commission at this stage.