Patent Baristas

The ability of an intrepid inventor to strike it rich from a great idea seems to be embedded in the DNA of many Americans.  Perhaps this view emanates from the presence of patents in the US Constitution, which could create a feeling that US citizens have an “inalienable right” to use patent protection to their […]

A featured document in the Docket Report recently highlighted an Amended Opinion by Judge Cavanaugh of New Jersey: “The court granted plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment of indirect infringement based on defendants’ use of a label containing “instructions on how to use the product in a manner that encourages acts of infringement” even though “doctors […]

Commentators like me frequently rail against what we view as the often unnecessarily high cost of obtaining patent protection. In truth, many patents are overpriced and provide questionable business value to their clients. Over-priced patents do not form the basis of this article, however. Instead, this is about the opposite phenomenon, i.e., under-priced patents. Specifically, […]

The Spanish Central Administrative Court of Appeal has confirmed that the holders of innovator medicaments are not entitled to challenge the marketing approvals of generic medicaments issued by the Spanish Agency of Medicaments and Sanitary Products (AEMPS). The Central Administrative Court of Appeal upheld the Administrative Court’s decision dismissing that Laboratorios Servier SL lacked legal […]

Pfizer is continuing its fight with generic drug manufacturer United Laboratories, Inc. (Unilab)in the Philippines over the issue of the validity of the patent on Lipitor (atorvastatin) as Unilab tries to have the patent canceled. Unilab filed its petition for the cancellation of Philippine Patent No. 29149 for Atorvastatin, marketed under the brand name Lipitor, […]

“I really don’t think they have thought this through. A world without intellectual property rights would be a pretty horrible place to live. There would be no investment in new technologies.” ~Michael Taylor of CIED The European Patent Office (EPO) is studying the growth in eco-innovation since the introduction of the Kyoto Protocol on climate […]

In a case highlighting the importance of ensuring a correct chain of title when filing a patent application, the UK High Court addressed the issues of loss of priority due to an incomplete assignment, as well as the credibility of expert witnesses.  In particular, it is important to transfer rights to interests initially owned by […]

I aim to shed light on the extent to which advance in the life sciences was directed by the profit motive and the availability of the patent system … and on the ways that the patent ‘institution’ evolved in response to science and to interest groups, mainly business ones, but also legal practitioners associated with […]