South San Francisco-based Fluidigm (NASDAQ: [[ticker:FLDM]]) said today it has settled a legal dispute over intellectual property with Carlsbad, CA-based Life Technologies (NASDAQ: [[ticker:LIFE]]), as the companies have agreed to cross-license and sub-license certain technologies from each other. Fluidigm, which went public in February, makes microfluidic instruments that biologists can use to identify rare and valuable cells in samples, while Life Technologies makes a variety of tools for genetic and cell analysis. In this case, Fluidigm will get access to Life Tech’s polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technologies, in exchange for access to certain IP on imaging readers and other technologies, Fluidigm said. “This is a very positive outcome for both companies. It provides each company with the freedom to compete in the marketplace instead of the courtroom,” said Gajus Worthington, Fluidigm’s CEO, in a statement.
