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Contingencies
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3 Months Ended |
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Oct. 31, 2012
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| Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block] |
Note 11 - Contingencies On June 7, 2004, the Company and Enzo Life Sciences, Inc., filed suit in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut against Applera Corporation and its wholly-owned subsidiary Tropix, Inc., now Life Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:LIFE). The complaint alleged infringement of six patents (relating to DNA sequencing systems, labeled nucleotide products, and other technology). Yale University is the owner of four of the patents and the Company is the exclusive licensee. These four patents are commonly referred to as the “Ward” patents. On November 12, 2012, a jury in New Haven found that one of these patents (United States Patent No. 5,449,667) was infringed and not proven invalid. The jury awarded $48.5 million for this infringement. Prejudgment interest should provide for additional recovery in the tens of millions of dollars. Life Technologies will likely appeal and there can be no assurance that the Company will be successful in this litigation. Even if the Company is not successful, management does not believe that there will be a significant adverse monetary impact on the Company. The Company is party to other claims, legal actions, complaints, and contractual disputes that arise in the ordinary course of business. The Company believes that any liability that may ultimately result from the resolution of these matters will not, individually or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on its financial position or results of operations. |