Preparing the First-Ever Economic Damages Report for the EU’s Unified Patent Court
-
September 30, 2025
-
Following a revoked preliminary injunction initiated by competitor 10x Genomics in 2023 that delayed its product launch by eight months and resulted in significant economic impacts, biotech company NanoString Technologies (now Bruker) filed a dispute with the EU’s newly established Unified Patent Court (“UPC”), claiming economic damages related to exclusion from the market.1 FTI Consulting was engaged to perform a damages assessment and prepare the first-ever economic damages report to be submitted to the UPC during ongoing proceedings on behalf of NanoString.
- FTI Consulting successfully delivered a first-of-its-kind damages report based on the new UPC regulations, providing the court with clarity on the economic impacts of 10x Genomics’ preliminary injunction against its competitor.
- The damages assessment and report directly influenced the settlement of worldwide disputes that had been adversely affecting NanoString’s business activities, and these settlements minimized reputational risk associated with ongoing lawsuits with the company’s most important competitor.
- Following years of intense litigation, the parties reached an out-of-court settlement, with NanoString able to produce and sell its technology in the European market and the UPC awarding damages for market exclusion.
- This proceeding will continue to have an impact in practice, as the methods used for reaching a decision have laid the groundwork for the future of economically sound damages assessments at the UPC.
Our Role:
- FTI Consulting analyzed the short- and long-term effect on NanoString’s business based on documents, structured interviews and engagement with industry experts.
- Our experts identified the effect the preliminary injunction had on NanoString’s first mover advantage in new markets and its effects on reputation.
- Utilizing findings from the analysis, FTI Consulting created an expert report for NanoString that provided well-founded documentation of the economic effects.
Footnotes:
1: Centralized patent litigation for the 18 participating European countries in the UPC leads to cost savings, faster resolution times and increased legal certainty. It also eliminates the need of patent owners for parallel national litigation and provides a single forum for infringement and validity cases. In terms of damages awarded, the UPC reflects the combined market size of all participating states, potentially resulting in more substantial compensation compared to individual national courts. This results in patent claims having a significant economic impact, as they can prevent potential infringers from accessing attractive markets. As the UPC includes a market coverage of approximately 300 million people, this reflects a comparable market size to the United States und thus becomes highly attractive for patent disputes.
Published
September 30, 2025
Key Contacts