PTAB

IPR2015-01826

Bio Rad Laboratories Inc v. Ge Healthcare Bio Sciences Ab

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1. Case Identification

2. Patent Overview

  • Title: Liquid handling system and components thereof
  • Brief Description: The ’718 patent relates to a configurable automated liquid handling system where interchangeable modular units feature physically separated liquid sections (fluidics) and electronic sections (non-fluidics). The modules mount to a panel such that the fluidics are external to the main housing and the electronics are internal.

3. Grounds for Unpatentability

Ground 1: Anticipation by ADI 2040 Manual - Claims 1-3, 5, 11, 14, and 16-18 are anticipated by the ADI 2040 Manual under 35 U.S.C. §102.

  • Prior Art Relied Upon: ADI 2040 Manual (a user manual for the Applikon ADI 2040 Process Analyzer, publicly available before the priority date).
  • Core Argument for this Ground:
    • Prior Art Mapping: Petitioner argued the ADI 2040 Manual discloses every limitation of the challenged claims. The manual describes a configurable chemical analyzer with a housing and at least two interchangeable "wet part modules" that can be placed in any of 20 mounting positions. Petitioner asserted the hinged "wet part door" of the 2040 system is the claimed "liquid handling panel," and each module's "mounting plate" is the claimed "panel member." Schematics allegedly show this mounting plate separating the external "wet part side" (fluidics) from the "inner side cabinet" (non-fluidics, including electronics), with the modules attached via screws. This arrangement was argued to satisfy the core claim requirement of separating external fluidics from internal electronics.
    • Prior Art Mapping (Dependent Claims): For dependent claims, Petitioner contended the manual discloses a "gasket wet part" as the required sealing member (claim 2), a central computer board connected via an internal bus as the master control unit and system bus (claim 3), and modules of different sizes, such as a Stirrer/Vessel Holder module that occupies two positions (claim 5). It further argued the 2040 system could be configured as a liquid chromatography system using its disclosed pumps and valves (claims 11, 16-18).

Ground 2: Anticipation by '164 Patent - Claims 1, 3, 11, 16, and 17 are anticipated by the '164 patent under §102.

  • Prior Art Relied Upon: Patent 6,355,164 ("’164 patent").
  • Core Argument for this Ground:
    • Prior Art Mapping: Petitioner argued the ’164 patent, which discloses an automated system for supercritical fluid chromatography, anticipates the key claims. The system includes a housing with slots to accept multiple removable and interchangeable regulator and valve modules. Petitioner mapped the front face of the housing to the "liquid handling panel" and the modules' faceplates (e.g., faceplate 1012) to the "panel member." It was argued that these faceplates attach the modules to the housing and separate the external fluidic channels from the internal non-fluidic electronics (e.g., stepper motor controllers, solenoids). As the ’164 patent explicitly describes a liquid chromatography system, it was alleged to meet the limitations of claims 11 and 16. The modules connecting to a computer controller via a communication panel and system bus were asserted to meet the limitations of claim 3.

Ground 3: Obviousness over 2040 Manual and '164 Patent - Claims 11 and 16-18 are obvious over the ADI 2040 Manual in view of the '164 patent.

  • Prior Art Relied Upon: ADI 2040 Manual, Patent 6,355,164 ("’164 patent").

  • Core Argument for this Ground:

    • Prior Art Mapping: Petitioner argued both references are directed to automated fluid handling systems with removable components attached to a housing via a panel that separates fluidics from non-fluidics. The ADI 2040 Manual disclosed a versatile modular system with all the necessary components (pumps, valves, detectors) to perform liquid chromatography.
    • Motivation to Combine: A person of ordinary skill in the art (POSITA), knowing of both systems, would have been motivated to use the system described in the ADI 2040 Manual to perform controlled fluid flow to a chromatography column, a specific application taught by the ’164 patent. Both references solve the problem of creating flexible, modular fluid handling systems.
    • Expectation of Success: A POSITA would have had a reasonable expectation of success because the ADI 2040 Manual already described a system with the requisite modularity and components for controlled fluid flow. Applying this known system to the well-understood application of chromatography would have been a straightforward implementation.

  • Additional Grounds: Petitioner asserted nine additional grounds, including:

4. Key Claim Construction Positions

  • "Interchangeable Fluid Handling Units" / "Interchangeable Modular Components": Petitioner proposed these terms mean "fluid handling units that can be inserted into and removed from...at least two positions in the liquid handling panel." This construction was intended to counter any potential argument that the units must be "readily interchangeable," a limitation Petitioner argued is not required by the claims themselves.
  • "A Panel Member": Petitioner argued this term means "a piece of material that through some mechanism (e.g. screws) attaches the interchangeable modular unit to the fluid handling panel" and serves to separate the fluidics section from the non-fluidics section, with electrical components on one side and fluidic components on the other. For the purposes of the petition, Petitioner adopted a construction proposed by the Patent Owner in co-pending litigation.
  • "Fluidics Sections Are External...Non Fluidic Sections Are Internal": Petitioner accepted the Patent Owner's litigation construction that "each of the at least two fluid handling units, when attached to the liquid handling panel, has an electrical component that is internal to the housing and a fluidic component that is external to the housing."

5. Relief Requested

  • Petitioner requested the institution of an inter partes review and the cancellation of claims 1-3, 5, 11, 14, and 16-18 of Patent 8,821,718 as unpatentable.