Affymetrix Down After Jury Finds Infringement

Shares of

Affymetrix

(AFFX)

fell after a jury found that the company infringed an

Oxford Gene Technology

patent for analyzing genetic material.

The company's shares resumed trading this afternoon after being halted, and were recently lower by $9.69, or 11.3%, to $76 in

Nasdaq

trading.

The Delaware court ruled that there was "no literal or willful infringement" of the patent, but that there was infringement under the "doctrine of equivalents." Affymetrix said a second phase of the trial will consider the company's assertion that the Oxford Gene patent is invalid.

Last week, shares of Affymetrix, which develops systems to analyze and manage genetic information, soared after a British appeals court found that the company's acquisition of a

Beckman Coulter

(BEC)

unit, which had a license for an Oxford patent, gave Affymetrix the right to use the technology.