10x Genomics v NanoString (CFI, 6 October 2023)
| Date | 6 October 2023 |
|---|---|
| Court | CFI |
| Division | Munich (DE) Local Division |
| Type of action | Application for provisional measures |
| Case number(s) | UPC_CFI_357/2023 |
| Registry reference | ACT_578681/2023ORD578815/2023 · UPC_CFI357/2023 |
| Parties | NanoString Technologies Inc. v. 10xGenomics, Inc. / President and Fellows of Harvard College |
Official decision (PDF) · UPC registry entry
Case timeline
- 26 October 2023 : 10xGenomics v NanoString (CFI, 26 October 2023) ORD_580223/2023 · UPC_CFI357/2023
Dhenne Avocats represents claimants and defendants in European patent disputes before the Unified Patent Court, including the Paris divisions.
Dhenne Avocats · 10 October 2026
Our analysis
Summary
By order of 6 October 2023 (UPC_CFI_357/2023, ORD_578815/2023), the presiding judge of the Munich Local Division, seised the day before by 10x Genomics and President and Fellows of Harvard College of an application for provisional measures to prevent NanoString from seeking an anti-suit or anti-enforcement injunction in the United States (a so-called anti-anti-suit application), granted NanoString a limited right to be heard within a very short period. Without deciding the application itself, the order shows how the Division reconciles the urgency inherent in such measures with the right to be heard.
Question
May an application for an anti-anti-suit injunction, which can ordinarily be granted without hearing the other side, lead to a limited hearing of that party?
Decision
Such applications can as a rule be granted ex parte, since warning the opponent could defeat the purpose of the measure. This case was exceptional: by telephone, NanoString’s counsel gave an assurance, as a lawyer, that no anti-suit or anti-enforcement injunction would be sought, whereas the Division considered that the earlier statements made at hearings in September 2023 were not sufficiently clear. The very short deadline removed the risk of the measure being frustrated. The applicants were to state that same day whether they maintained the application, and NanoString could comment in writing, within the limits so defined, by 11.00 on Monday 9 October 2023. Absent a written statement, the Division would assume that a renewed application for an anti-suit or anti-enforcement injunction was likely and expected to grant the measures sought at once.
Key points for practice
- An oral assurance from the opponent’s counsel may justify a limited hearing instead of an immediate ex parte order, provided it is confirmed in writing within hours or days.
- Practical point: a party targeted by an anti-anti-suit application should state its undertaking not to seek a foreign injunction in unambiguous terms, failing which the measure may be granted without further debate.
Provisions applied
- Provisions
- The order cites no provision.
Related decisions
Prepared by Dhenne Avocats from the official decision, consulted on 10 October 2026. The database is updated every week, on Friday. Only the official text is authoritative.
Decisions in the same proceedings
Going further
Lexicon: Application for a preliminary injunction, Order to preserve evidence (UPC).
Publications by Matthieu Dhenne: The Launch Letter: How Generics and Biosimilars Should Write to Avoid UPC Urgency (Kluwer Patent Blog).
Source and translations
- Official source
- Unified Patent Court registry link recorded in the record
- Original language
- not recorded
- Translation available
- no translation recorded the firm’s French record is a summary, not a translation
- Date checked
- not recorded
Follow this case
Proceedings, related decisions, appeals, parties and patents as recorded in the registry and in the Dhenne Avocats corpus. Each link states its source.
Parties
- defendantPresident and Fellows of Harvard College29 decisions in the corpusFollow this party
- claimantNanoString Technologies Inc.17 decisions in the corpusFollow this party
- defendant10xGenomics, Inc.3 decisions in the corpusFollow this party
Decisions in the same proceedings and documented appeals
- 6 October 2023 10x Genomics v NanoString (CFI, 6 October 2023) Application for provisional measures · UPC_CFI_357/2023
- 26 October 2023 10xGenomics v NanoString (CFI, 26 October 2023) Application for provisional measures · UPC_CFI_357/2023
Le retrait des demandes de mesures provisoires est autorisé et la procédure déclarée close. Les demanderesses supportent les frais de justice.
What the record states
- Nature of the act
- Application for provisional measures
- Outcome (Dhenne Avocats summary)
- Saisie d'une demande anti-anti-suit, la division accorde à NanoString un droit d'être entendue limité, jusqu'au 9 octobre 2023 à 11 heures, au vu de l'assurance orale donnée par son conseil.
- Appeal
- No appeal documented in the corpus, this does not mean that no appeal was lodged.
- Instance
- First-instance decision, whether it has become final is not recorded.
Related decisions cited in the analyses
- 10xGenomics v NanoString (CFI, 26 October 2023) cited in this record
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