Patent Baristas

The title to the Public Patent Foundation (“PUBPAT”) news release said it all: “PUBPAT Receives Substantial Victory in Lipitor Patent Challenge: Pfizer Concedes to Give Up Original Broad Patent Claims. Or, does it? PUBPAT touted that in the challenge it filed last year against Pfizer Inc.’s patent on Lipitor, “Pfizer has conceded to significantly narrow […]

Did Pfizer get punked by a nonprofit? The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a ruling on one of several patents that Pfizer holds on Lipitor (atorvastatin), its top-selling cholesterol drug. In the reexamination proceeding initiated last year by the Public Patent Foundation (“PUBPAT”), the USPTO rejected all 44 of the claims of U.S. […]

The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) heard arguments from Monsanto Corporation on the patentability of genetic markers, known as Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs). (In re Fisher, Fed. Cir., No. 04-1465; May 3, 2005) Monsanto argued that its application should not have been rejected by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for […]

I was recently reminded about how easy it is to lose patent rights due to a miscalculated publication. Since I regularly represent universities and other research institutions in patent matters, I’m very familiar with publication pressure felt by faculty and students and the inherent rush to be the first to present findings to peers. I […]

I received an updated reminder from our associates in Taiwan, Tai E International Patent & Law Office, regarding filing patent applications in Taiwan. Many people know that Taiwan is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and that it recognizes claims for priority rights from citizens of all WTO member states. Therefore, nationals of […]

The European Patent Office, after conducting opposition hearings, said that it will amend a BRCA1 gene patent (EP 705903) held by Myriad Genetics.  See announcement here.  The original patent related to 34 mutations in the BRCA1 gene sequenced from the human genome and diagnostic methods for detecting these mutations to show predisposition to breast cancer.  […]

Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. got a favorable decision on its European Patent (No. 0706 376) from the European Patent Office Opposition Division. The European Patent Office maintained the validity of Angiotech’s patent with various claims, including claims to stents coated with paclitaxel and a polymeric carrier. Stents are tiny wire mesh tubes that are inflated inside […]