Patent Baristas

I usually try to keep up with various to-do’s but one item that I’ve been behind on lately is reviewing some books on my shelf. One book that I’ve recently perused is “Patents for Business: The Manager’s Guide to Scope, Strategy, and Due Diligence” by attorney M. Henry Heines (Praeger Publishers, Westport, CT (2007)). Patents […]

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is initiating a pilot program in which the applicant who complies with certain requirements will receive the results of a prior art search conducted by the examiner, via a condensed Pre-Interview Communication, and then be permitted to conduct an interview with the examiner to discuss the cited […]

It seems that — on the spur of the moment — ProBlogger has declared today Blogger Appreciation Day and has asked readers to email another blogger to let them know that you appreciate something about them. He also suggested writing a post with your words of appreciation. I have a lot to be appreciative for […]

Negotiations in the Senate on patent reform bill S. 1145 seemed to break down this week after Sen. Arlen Specter released a statement saying: The Chairman [Sen. Leahy] and I differ on a number of aspects of the proposed patent reform legislation. . . . . The principal sticking point is the issue of how […]

Ortho-McNeil kept it’s exclusivity on topiramate after a district court blocked Mylan Labs from infringing Ortho-McNeil’s U.S. Patent No. 4,513,006 covering Topomax® (topiramate), an anticonvulsive drug used to treat epilepsy. The trial court also reset the effective approval date for Mylan’s Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA). The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal […]

Forest Labs had a bit of a reversal of fortune in its patent dispute with Caraco Pharmaceutical Labs over its drug Lexapro®, which is used to treat depression and generalized anxiety disorder. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed and remanded the case back to the U.S. District Court, which had dismissed […]

After months of meetings and redrafting work, the U.S. Senate is said to be ready to make a move on the patent reform bill, S. 1145. Various senators are said to be working behind the scenes drafting amendments with some compromises being made on section 11 of the bill, a/k/a “Applicant Quality Submissions (AQS).” The […]

The Coalition for Patent Fairness held a conference call for the Media yesterday to announce that Senate leaders has made public statements suggesting that the Patent Reform Act (S.1145) could come up for the floor vote in mid-April.  General Counsels from companies that make up the Coalition for Patent Fairness discussed the current state of […]