3 interesting things in this issue of IAM Magazine were:
(1) The twice yearly ‘Practice Business Review’ sessions held at Microsoft and their ongoing efforts to quantify the value that the IP function adds;
(2) Despite great strides made by numerous large pharmaceutical companies, Oxfam still finds much to complain about rather than congratulate and collaborate about; and
(3) William Barret’s piece on crazy inventions and their place in allowing innovation (and invention?) to flourish – particularly when contrasted with Craig Opperman’s piece on the ‘Elephant in the Room’ (which basically highlights the elderly chestnut that senior executives should focus on patent quality, not quantity).

Most surprising was the quote: “At present we don’t have a coherent, unified approach to applying antitrust principles to IP-related activities and transactions.” from Horacio Gutierrez, Microsoft’s Chief Intellectual Property Officer.  Actually, after the initial surprise, it makes a great deal of sense.  The overlap between IP and Competition law is incredibly complex, particularly when you overlay the many differences that arise across national boundaries.

Find out more at: www.iam-magazine.com 
 

• Pharmaceutical and biological data exclusivity in the United States and Brazil;
• Geographical Indications in Europe and Brazil;
• European Court of Justice decisions on the Madrid protocol, ownership of Community Designs and Geographical Indications;
• Communicating IP Value; and
• Using social networking for good - Jeremy's Tweet and Retreat principle.

We hope you enjoy this week's show, and as always, we look forward to your comments and feedback.

Links:

People

Jeremy Phillips - http://www.jeremyphillips.eu;  http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/

Jose Carlos Vaz e Dias - http://www.diblasi.com.br/?mod=profissionais&sec=escritorio&prof=Jose-Carlos-Vaz-e-Dias

Firstly, thanks

In our opinion, the biggest news in the IP world this month was the Swedish Pirate Party winning a seat in the  EU parliament.

There were also some big IP wins for some of our clients in the news, but we can’t mention them here, except to say congratulations again.

The best podcast moment was the US, Europe and China discussion with Hal Wegner, Weijiang Si and Jeremy Philips.

In other news we’re delighted to be adding a second outstanding Indian team member to our firm.  We’re looking forward to when she can start.  We’re currently in discussions with potential team members from China and the USA.

Finally, we’ve decided to open up the IP Think Tank’s virtual doors to allow others to publish high quality articles in our articles area.  We have a number of research projects ongoing and will be keen to collaborate when appropriate as well.  Please do let us know if you would like more information about this initiative.
 

(Photo credit: marcelgermain)

• The rise and rise of the Pirate Party in Europe and future implications;
• The demise of Loi Hadopi (France's 3 strikes law); and
• Seizure of generic drugs transiting through Europe.

We hope you enjoy this week’s show, and as always, we look forward to your comments and feedback.

Stay tuned for popular guests Hal Wegner and Weijang Si on next week’s show.

Having said that, if you're so minded, by all means, please do head over to Gene's blog and vote for IP Think Tank - much appreciated.

It's also a great way to discover some great patent blogs, so take a look.

(Photo credit: farlane)

You can get a copy of the slides from the presentation from our articles page at www.DuncanBucknell.com/articles/660.

We hope you enjoy this week's show, and as always, we look forward to your comments and feedback.

Links:

Copy of the presentation slides:  www.DuncanBucknell.com/articles/660

In this presentation Duncan reviews the current contentious strategic approach to intellectual property in the pharmaceutical industry.  He then looks at the fast paced change that is already overwhelming some parts of the industry and, looks to other industries for examples of alternative strategic approaches.  The presentation finishes with some key suggestions and practical examples relating to much greater and more open collaboration between pharmaceutical companies.

Click here or on the 'download media' link at the top of this page for a copy of the slides.

You can download and listen to a podcast of Duncan presenting this material in our podcast area.

Half of all US patents will lapse at the 12 year mark, and the number will be significantly higher the longer you leave it.  The numbers are higher in other jurisdictions where maintenance fees are payable each year.

So next time you identify a patent that looks to be of concern during a freedom to operate exercise, think carefully about the actual future date that you will be wanting to launch. 

It may well be that you can wait it out a while before deciding whether to 'invent around' or develop an invalidity position for the patent.  (And, sure, if you have the funds now, then go ahead and develop an invalidity position as well - but that's not everyone at the moment...)

Gregory Glover - http://www.pharmalawgrp.com/biography.html

• Patent reform in the United States,
• Patent harmonisation and patent damages,
• The economic crisis and intellectual property practice, and
• Some solutions to the overabundance of lawyers.

We hope you enjoy this week's show, and as always, we look forward to your comments and feedback.

Links:

People

Jeremy Phillips - http://www.jeremyphillips.eu; http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/

Hal Wegner - http://www.foley.com/people/bio.aspx?employeeid=16338

Here is a list of resources and links that I'm currently aware of about the issue - please do let me know if you have any more - I will come back and update this list.

• Post at LawFont by Australian intellectual property scholar, Kimberly Weatherwall;
• The Australian Financial Review article (subscription required);
• Post and commentary at Club Troppo blog and subsequent post at blogotariat;
• My post here on 8 April introducing the issue and calling for comment;
• Our IP Think Tank podcast interview with Economist, Nicholas Gruen and leading Indian Intellectual Property scholar, Shamnad Basheer;
• Discussion with Economist, Nicholas Gruen on the Australian Broadcasting Commission's Science Show;
• A submission to the Joint Trade Sub Committee of the Parliament of Australia on behalf of Hospira, one of the main proponents of the suggested changes; and
• Generic Medicines Industry Association (GMiA) Press Release

(Photo credit: jurvetson)

Here are the slides from Duncan's presentation at Medical Devices Law & Policy Conference in Sydney, Australia.  (Click here or the 'download media' link to the right of this page.)

You can download and listen to a podcast of Duncan presenting this material in our podcast area.

Amongst other things, Duncan discusses:

• Whether medical devices are like pharmaceuticals when it comes to IP strategy;
• The downside of confining patents to being competitive weapons;
• The top things to consider in contentious IP Strategy;
• Using IP to add value;
• IP systems and processes; and
• Cross licensing.

Amongst other things, Duncan discusses:

• Whether medical devices are like pharmaceuticals when it comes to IP strategy;
• The downside of confining patents to being competitive weapons;
• The top things to consider in contentious IP Strategy;
• Using IP to add value;
• IP systems and processes; and
• Cross licensing.

You can obtain a copy of Duncan's slides for the talk from our articles area.

We hope you enjoy this week's show, and as always, we look forward to your comments and feedback.

Links to articles mentioned in the presentation:

• The '6 T's' - Analysing IP - put simply
• Relative cost and time to judgment in IP litigation - Value for money in global patent litigation
• IP Strategy and the Art of War (I) - External Advisors - http://www.iam-magazine.com
• IP Strategy and the Art of War (II) - In House Team - (soon to be published)

We hope you enjoy this week's show, and as always, we look forward to your comments and feedback.

Links:

Previous post at IP Think Tank and related links -

http://duncanbucknell.com/blog/612

People

Shamnad Basheer - http://spicyindia.blogspot.com/

Nicholas Gruen - http://www.lateraleconomics.com.au/

While blockbuster molecules have driven the growth of the Pharmaceutical Industry, the last decade has been a rough path for Innovator Pharmaceutical Companies due to low success rates in developing new drug products, increasing costs and clinical research times lines, shrinking research pipeline, increasing generic competition, Regulatory Compliance  etc. With Drugs worth about $60 billion going off patent and the absence of any new blockbuster drugs, the innovator companies have been suffering a constant revenue loss.

As a result, the companies have constantly adopted new strategies to maintain a reasonable growth rate. For instance, the $68bn acquisition of Wyeth was driven by Pfizer's need to sustain a product pipeline ahead of the expiry of patent protection on its blockbuster cholesterol drug Lipitor in 2011.  Another example is Merck’s authorized generic deal with Dr. Reddy’s and it’s negotiations with health insurers to sell its Simvastatin (Zocor) on par with the generic.

The most recent of all, is the Bristol Myers-Otsuka’s extension of Abilify (Aripiprazole) sales agreement upto 2015. As per the deal, Bristol Myer will pay Otsuka $400 million initially for the extension and an increasing portion of product sales. Bristol-Myer’s share of U.S. sales will constantly decrease from 65% to 50% staring from 2010 through 2013. Otsuka will also take on some 30% of development cost from 2010 through 2012 and 50% of the costs from 2013 through April 2015. Also as part of the agreement, the companies will collaborate on co-marketing of Bristol-Myers’s anticancer drug Sprycel and development planning of it’s anticancer Drug Lxempra.  The deal is expected to take care of at least the Abilify revenue stream. 

While innovator companies are definitely transforming their strategies to take care of the potential losses due to patent expiration, alternate growth strategies will increasingly be a part of the way forward.

Photo credit: aussiegall

The Australian Financial Review ran a piece as did the the popular 'Club Troppo' Blog and Blogotariat.  No doubt there will be more to come.  One of the perceived issues is whether Australia would be complying with both TRIPS and the US Free Trade Agreement in doing so.

Leading Australian Intellectual Property Academic, Andrew Christie noted in a 2002 Report to the Australian Government that the Australian legislation already allows manufacture for export.  (Review of Pharmaceutical Patent Extensions and Springboarding Provisions in Various Jurisdictions, 2002. - let me know if you want a copy and I will send it to you.)

What do you think?  Should countries be allowed to have an exemption from patent infringement solely for manufacture and export?

Photo credit: CarbonNYC

• The Tom Tom and Microsoft case;
• Open source, Linux and the press;
• Recent patent reform proposals in Australia and comparisons with Europe and the United States;
• Tafas v Doll, Continuations and Rule 78; and
• Apportionment of damages in the current US patent reform bill.

We hope you enjoy this week's show, and as always, we look forward to your comments and feedback.

Links:

People

Jeremy Phillips - www.jeremyphillips.eu

Peter Ollier - www.managingip.com

Donald Zuhn - www.mbhb.com/attorneys/zuhn

Ben Lehman - www.duncanbucknell.com/team

The first is a workshop on patent fundamentals at the Academy of Intellectual Property Studies (23 to 27 April at Goregaon in Mumbai).  Vandana's session is on 24 April.

The other one is at the Drug Information Association's second annual conference on "Access to Medicines: Regulatory and Public Health Interface: (4 to 5 May 2009 at the Hyatt Regency in Mumbai).

Please do come along and say hello to Vandana and let us know your thoughts on the conferences and her presentations.

• The recent decision of the Superior Court of Justice of Brazil which moved the date of effect of TRIPS and cut patent terms; and
• The status and IP implications for the pharmaceutical industry in South America, India, Europe and the United States.

We hope you enjoy this week's show, and as always, we look forward to your comments and feedback.

Links:

People:

Jeremy Phillips - www.jeremyphilips.eu

Jose Carlos Vaz e Diaz - www.diblasi.com.br

Joff Wild - www.iam-magazine.com

• Fallout from the World Trade Organisation dispute between China and the United States;
• Dr Reddy's, CIPLA, India, Brazil and the EU and the emerging controversy over seized pharmaceutical goods;
• TRIPS compliance and too much protection within a country;
• The infringement approach to goods transiting through Europe in trade marks versus patents;
• Deferred examination in the United States, Europe and elsewhere; and
• New approaches to productivity in patent examination.

We hope you enjoy this week's podcast, and as always, we look forward to your comments and feedback.

Links:

People

Jeremy Phillips - http://www.jeremyphillips.eu/

Shamnad Basheer - http://spicyipindia.blogspot.com

Nick Redfearn - http://www.iprights.com

Don Zuhn - http://www.patentdocs.org

Other

The two books mentioned by Nick Redfearn at the end of the show:

Will Hutton - Writing on the wall

Anil Gupta - Getting China and India right