KANATA, Ontario, Canada, April 27 -- GSI Lumonics Inc. reported that BioDiscovery Inc. and its founder, Soheil Shams, have abandoned all claims that GSI Lumonics' QuantArray microarray analysis software infringes on any copyright owned or controlled by BioDiscovery or Shams. In addition, GSI Lumonics said Shams has consented to an entry of judgement in GSI Lumonics' favor in a declaratory judgement action currently pending in the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
The copyright litigation commenced on December 10, 1999, when GSI Lumonics filed the Massachusetts suit seeking a declaratory judgement declaring that the company's QuantArray microarray quantification software does not infringe any copyrights owned by Shams or BioDiscovery, including copyrights relating to BioDiscovery's competing ImaGene software. Shams responded on December 20, 1999, by filing a copyright infringement and breach of contract action against GSI Lumonics in the US District Court for the Central District of California. GSI Lumonics said that it intends to pursue a claim for attorneys' fees in the Massachusetts action, and that it will move to dismiss the remaining claims in Shams' California action.