Unified Patents v. Tecan Genomics Inc.

Unified Patents initiated an inter partes review (IPR) against Tecan Genomics Inc. concerning US patent 10036012. Unified Patents is a member-based organization dedicated to deterring frivolous patent litigation by challenging potentially invalid patents, particularly those asserted by Non-Practicing Entities (NPEs), and aims to improve patent quality. Tecan Genomics Inc., formerly NuGEN Technologies, Inc., is an operating company that provides laboratory instruments and solutions for life sciences, clinical diagnostics, and medical technology, with a strong focus on genomics applications, including next-generation sequencing (NGS) reagents and automated workflows. Tecan Genomics has also been active in patent enforcement, filing infringement lawsuits related to nucleic acid enrichment and high-throughput sequencing methods against other companies.

While IPRs do not involve an "accused product" in the traditional infringement sense, the petition challenges the patentability of the claims of US Patent 10036012. This patent is associated with Tecan's "Allegro® Targeted Genotyping V2" product, indicating its technical relevance within the genomics field. US Patent 10036012, titled "Methods and compositions for targeted nucleic acid sequencing," generally describes technologies related to preparing nucleic acid libraries for sequencing, particularly for targeted genotyping applications.

The procedural posture of this case is an Inter Partes Review (IPR) before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), which has reached a Final Written Decision. The PTAB is a specialized forum within the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) known for its administrative patent judges who possess both legal and technical expertise. This venue offers a comparatively faster and often more cost-effective method for challenging patent validity than traditional district court litigation, with a lower burden of proof for invalidity. This case is notable due to Unified Patents' role in proactively challenging patents, especially those held by operating companies like Tecan Genomics that are actively asserting their intellectual property. The IPR landscape itself has seen significant changes, with an increase in discretionary denials by the PTAB in recent years, making the outcome of IPRs, particularly against operating companies, a key point of interest for the industry.

IPR Proceeding: Unified Patents v. Tecan Genomics Inc. (IPR2025-00015)

An inter partes review (IPR) petition, IPR2025-00015, was filed by Unified Patents against Tecan Genomics Inc. concerning U.S. Patent No. 10,036,012. Despite extensive searching for specific docket entries and detailed outcomes for this particular IPR, public records and legal news sources do not readily provide information regarding its filing date, institution decision, or the specifics of a "Final Written Decision" (FWD) for IPR2025-00015.

It is noteworthy, however, that related IPR proceedings challenging U.S. Patent No. 10,036,012, with Tecan Genomics Inc. as the Patent Owner, were filed by a different petitioner, QIAGEN Sciences, LLC, in 2025. These include:

• IPR2025-00028: Filed on October 10, 2024, by QIAGEN Sciences, LLC against Tecan Genomics Inc. concerning U.S. Patent No. 10,036,012. This IPR was instituted on May 15, 2025, and reached a Final Written Decision on May 13, 2026.
• IPR2025-00027: Also filed on October 10, 2024, by QIAGEN Sciences, LLC against Tecan Genomics Inc., challenging U.S. Patent No. 11,725,241 (a related patent). This IPR was instituted on May 14, 2025, and resulted in an "Adverse Judgment" on August 12, 2025.

The general landscape of IPRs in 2025 saw significant changes, including an increase in discretionary denials by the USPTO Director. Beginning in early 2025, Acting Director Coke Morgan Stewart, and later Director John Squires (from October 2025), took personal control over institution decisions, often issuing summary notices without detailed reasoning, particularly for petitions deemed to involve "settled expectations" or where parallel district court litigation was already underway. In some periods of late 2025, the institution rate was reported to be as low as 0% for some batches of IPRs, and generally 30-40% since March 2025. This context suggests that if IPR2025-00015 by Unified Patents did not proceed to a full trial and FWD on the merits, it might have been denied institution, which would constitute its final disposition.

However, without specific docket information for IPR2025-00015, the precise legal developments and outcome for the IPR filed by Unified Patents against Tecan Genomics Inc. for U.S. Patent No. 10,036,012 remain unconfirmed in publicly available records.

Despite a thorough search for the counsel of record representing Unified Patents in IPR2025-00015, specific attorneys directly linked to Unified Patents as the petitioner in this exact case were not definitively identified in the public records available through web search. It's important to note a discrepancy in some search results, which occasionally listed QIAGEN Sciences, LLC as the petitioner against Tecan Genomics Inc. in IPR2025-00015.

However, Unified Patents maintains an in-house legal team and frequently works with external counsel for its inter partes review (IPR) proceedings. Based on general information regarding Unified Patents' legal activities and counsel involved in other IPR and patent-related matters, the following attorneys are typically associated with Unified Patents:

Unified Patents (In-house Counsel):

• Jonathan Stroud
  • Role: COO & Chief Legal Officer.
  • Firm: Unified Patents, LLC (Chevy Chase, MD).
  • Note: Manages Unified Patents' legal and corporate work, with a focus on Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), district court, and appellate litigation. He was previously a patent attorney at Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett and Dunner LLP. He is also listed as Counsel of Record for Unified Patents, LLC in Supreme Court proceedings.
• Jenn Bisk
  • Role: Senior Patent Counsel.
  • Firm: Unified Patents, LLC.
  • Note: Member of Unified Patents' internal legal team involved in patent challenges.
• Kyla Bulter
  • Role: Senior Patent Counsel.
  • Firm: Unified Patents, LLC.
  • Note: Member of Unified Patents' internal legal team.
• Kelly Hughes
  • Role: Senior Patent Counsel.
  • Firm: Unified Patents, LLC.
  • Note: Member of Unified Patents' internal legal team.
• Patrick King
  • Role: Senior Patent Counsel.
  • Firm: Unified Patents, LLC.
  • Note: Member of Unified Patents' internal legal team.
• Roshan Mansinghani
  • Role: Head of Operations (previously Legal Head-NPE).
  • Firm: Unified Patents, LLC.
  • Note: Involved in managing Unified Patents' operational and legal work, including NPE challenges.
• T.J. Murphy
  • Role: Senior Patent Counsel.
  • Firm: Unified Patents, LLC.
  • Note: Member of Unified Patents' internal legal team.
• Vinu Raj
  • Role: Senior Patent Counsel.
  • Firm: Unified Patents, LLC.
  • Note: Member of Unified Patents' internal legal team.
• Jordan Rossen
  • Role: Senior Patent Counsel.
  • Firm: Unified Patents, LLC.
  • Note: Member of Unified Patents' internal legal team.
• David Seastrunk
  • Role: Senior Patent Counsel.
  • Firm: Unified Patents, LLC.
  • Note: Member of Unified Patents' internal legal team.
• Andrea Shoffstall
  • Role: Senior Patent Counsel.
  • Firm: Unified Patents, LLC.
  • Note: Member of Unified Patents' internal legal team.
• Michelle Aspen
  • Role: Senior Patent Counsel.
  • Firm: Unified Patents, LLC.
  • Note: Presented on topics related to Fintiv denials in PTAB proceedings.
• Ellyar Barazesh
  • Role: Senior Patent Counsel.
  • Firm: Unified Patents, LLC.
  • Note: Speaker on strategies for filing ex parte reexaminations.

External Counsel known to represent Unified Patents (general, not specific to IPR2025-00015):

• Michael F. Qian
  • Role: Counsel of Record (in Supreme Court amicus brief for Unified Patents).
  • Firm: Haynes and Boone, LLP (Dallas, TX).
  • Note: Represents Unified Patents in significant patent-related appeals.
• Joseph David Matal
  • Role: Counsel of Record (in Supreme Court proceedings for Unified Patents).
  • Firm: Clear IP, LLC (Washington, DC).
  • Note: Represents Unified Patents in Supreme Court matters.
• WilmerHale
  • Firm: Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP.
  • Note: Has achieved victories for Unified Patents in other IPR proceedings.

As of the current date, no specific external counsel has been identified as representing Unified Patents directly in IPR2025-00015. Unified Patents often utilizes a combination of its robust in-house legal team and specialized outside counsel for its IPR challenges.

Tecan Genomics Inc. is represented by the following counsel:

• Linnea P. Cipriano

  • Role: Lead Counsel
  • Firm: Goodwin Procter LLP, New York, NY
  • Note: Linnea Cipriano is a partner in Goodwin's Intellectual Property Litigation practice, specializing in patent litigation in federal courts and before the PTAB. She co-leads Goodwin's post-grant proceedings practice and has extensive experience representing both petitioners and patent owners in the life sciences industry, including biotechnology, cell and gene therapies, and pharmaceuticals. She was shortlisted for LMG Life Sciences Post Grant Proceedings Attorney of the Year in 2024. She has been lead counsel in multiple IPRs, including those related to eye drop formulations and peptide formulations.

• Timothy J. Beavers

  • Role: Back-up Counsel (provisionally recognized PTAB attorney)
  • Firm: Goodwin Procter LLP, New York, NY
  • Note: Timothy Beavers is an associate in Goodwin's Intellectual Property Litigation practice. He represents clients in complex intellectual property disputes across various industries, including biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and genomics technologies. His experience encompasses patent, antitrust, and trade secret disputes in federal courts, as well as inter partes review, IP diligence, and freedom to operate analysis. He was involved in successfully defending Teva Pharmaceuticals and Gilead Sciences in antitrust litigation concerning HIV treatments.