Patent Baristas

Chief Justice Paul Michel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit wrote to Senator Patrick Leahy, Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary regarding patent reform. He notes the differences between the Section 10 (b) Interlocutory Appeals of the bill and the appeals already authorized under section 1292(b) of title 28. The […]

Chief Justice Paul Michel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit wrote late last week to Shanna Winter, Howard Berman’s staff in charge of patent reform. Michel expressed concerns regarding determining damages in patent infringement cases under the reasonable royalty language of the Patent Act. Michel references an article by patent litigator […]

As the Patent Reform Bill of 2007 (S. 1145) makes it’s way through Congress, Senators Coburn, Grassley, Kyl, Sessions and Brownback letter to Senator Patrick Leahy, Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary. Note that a majority of the a majority of the Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans co-signed the letter. Basically, the group beleives that […]

In another stirring chapter of the on-going Plavix debacle, the Bristol-Myers Squibb pleaded guilty to two criminal counts of two violations of the federal False Statements Act and will pay a $1 million fine (the maximum penalty) for lying to the federal government about a patent deal involving the anticoagulant drug Plavix (clopidogrel bisulfate). The […]

The U.S. Supreme Court will vote today whether to accept for review Zoltek Corporation v. United States, No. 06-1155. Pharmaceuticals, defense and manufacturing companies are closely watching the case, which centers on the types of protections, if any, that are available to a patent-holder whose inventions have been infringed by the Federal Government or its […]

The Analysis Group released a report on the impact of authorized generic entry on paragraph IV certifications. The report, “Do Authorized Generic Drugs Deter Paragraph IV Certifications?,” was co-authored by academic affiliate Professor Ernst R. Berndt of MIT’s Sloan School of Management, Analysis Group Vice President Richard Mortimer, and Managing Principal Andrew Parece. In looking […]

Brazil decided to break the patent on the HIV drug Storcrin (the brand name for efavirenz), becoming the second country to challenge the pharmaceutical industry in seeking a drastic reductions in drug costs. Brazil’s President signed a compulsory licence for efavirenz to purchase from generic suppliers under provisions permitted by World Trade Organization rules. Brazil […]

While the practice of savings seeds after a harvest to plant the next season is as old as farming itself, farmers have found that patent laws count in the end. In Monsanto v. McFarling (05-1570, -1598), Monsanto went after the farmer for breaching a technology agreement over genetically modified crops that resist glyphosphate herbicide. Upon […]