Patent Baristas

I will be attending BIO2007 in Boston on May 6-9 and will be participating as a blogger on-site at BioVoice, an up-to-the-minute review of some of the sites and sounds at the largest gathering of biotech professionals in the world with over 20,000 attendees, 1,900 exhibitors, 60 pavilions, 60 countries represented and 300 public officials. […]

Earlier, we discussed the moves by Brazil towards breaking the patent on Merck’s efavirenz anti-retroviral drug (See Patents Are For Chumps) after declaring it a “public interest” medicine, which effectively gave Merck seven days to negotiate lower prices with the government or have Brazil break the patent by issuing a compulsory license. More recently, things […]

It is clear that the Supreme Court’s ruling in KSR Int’l Co. v. Teleflex Inc. (Opinion 04-1350; Decided April 30, 2007) was meant to make it easier to challenge a patent on the grounds that the idea was obvious or showed no real innovation. The question is, does this mean bad news for pharmaceutical and […]

Just an update on KSR Int’l Co. v. Teleflex Inc. (Opinion 04-1350; Decided April 30, 2007). KSR has been the most anticipated patent law case in the past year and will certainly be discussed for months and years to come. Many are wondering if this will give a boost to businesses by getting rid of […]

The U.S. Supreme Court gave tech businesses what they wanted — more defense against patent suits. The Court made it easier to get a patent declared invalid for failing to show “real innovation” in development. Technology companies, especially software developers, have been beating a never-ending drumbeat that they are the victims of patent suits, therefore […]

Who Doesn’t Want to Save on Heathcare? In a week of thumbing noses at patents, Brazil said it will buy a generic version of a Merck’s efavirenz anti-retroviral drug for the treatment of AIDS unless it offers Brazil a deeper discount on the medicine.  Health Minister Jose Gomes Temporao signed a decree declaring a “public […]

Today is World Intellectual Property Day, a day organized by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) as a way to encourage people to think about intellectual property in everyday life, and about its importance in protecting IP. April 26 was chosen as this was the date on which the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property […]

The big news this week was that biotechnology was the hottest sector in venture capital in the first quarter of this year. A report out Monday by the National Venture Capital Association, which published the study together with PricewaterhouseCoopers based on data from Thomson Financial, showed that investors poured $7.1 billion into 778 deals. Overall, […]