XML 29 R18.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v3.22.2
Commitment and Contingencies
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2022
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
11.
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Litigation

The Company may become involved in various claims, suits, and legal proceedings from time to time in the ordinary course of its business. The Company accrues a liability when it believes that it is both probable and the amount of loss can be reasonably estimated. While the outcome of such claims, lawsuits or other proceedings cannot be predicted with certainty, management expects that any liability, to the extent not provided for by insurance or otherwise, will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s consolidated financial position or results of operations.

Codexis Trademark Litigation

In May 2020 Codexis, Inc. (Codexis) filed a complaint against the Company relating to its CODEX DNA name based on Codexis’ rights in the CODEX and CODEXIS mark in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California for federal and common law trademark infringement and unfair competition/false designation (the Complaint). Codexis seeks injunctive relief, including that the Company cease all use of the term CODEX and any other trademark confusingly similar to the marks CODEX and CODEXIS and not apply for registration of or register the CODEX mark or any other mark confusingly similar to the CODEX or CODEXIS marks, transfer to Codexis all domain names and social media accounts/user names that include the term “codex” and pay damages (consisting of Codexis’s actual damages, a disgorgement of the Company’s profits and punitive damages as permitted by California common law) as well as attorneys’ fees and costs. In April 2022, Codexis and the Company reached a mutually agreeable resolution to the Codexis trademark litigation.

Eurofins Pharma Non-Competition/Non-Solicitation Litigationc

In October 2018, Eurofins Pharma US Holdings II, Inc. (EPUSH II) and Eurofins DiscoverX Corporation (Eurofins DiscoverX) (collectively, Plaintiffs) filed a complaint against Todd R. Nelson, the Company and Synthetic Genomics, Inc. (the Company’s former parent company, and together with Dr. Nelson and SGI-DNA, the Defendants) to enforce non-competition and non-solicitation provisions of an agreement.

The complaint, filed in the Superior Court of California, County of San Diego, charged Dr. Nelson with breach of contract, the Company with tortious interference, and both with unfair competition. The complaint sought permanent injunctive relief, monetary damages and other equitable relief (including restitution) against the Defendants. On April 9, 2021, the Defendants filed a motion for summary judgment, or in the alternative, summary adjudication, with regard to all causes of action. A hearing on this motion was held on June 25, 2021, at which time the court granted the motion in summary judgement on behalf of SGI-DNA and Dr. Nelson on three of the four claims. The court directed the parties back to mediation on the remaining claim but there was no resolution. On June 22, 2022, at the conclusion of a bench trial, the court ruled in favor of the Company and Dr. Nelson on the remaining claim.

Leases

The Company’s non-cancelable lease commitments are described in Note 7.