One of the first patent infringement suits over CRISPR gene editing technology is set for a preliminary injunction showdown Thursday in San Jose federal court.

U.S. District Judge Edward Davila will confront a few oddities as Agilent Technologies Inc. tries to block sales of Synthego Corp.'s gene-editing tools. Redwood City-based Synthego Corp. originally sued Agilent for a declaration of noninfringement but has since shifted its focus to patent validity—specifically, its Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) validity challenge to Agilent Technologies' 10,337,001 and 10,900,034 patents.