Patent Docs

USPTO Updates Obviousness Examination Guidelines

2010-09-08T23:59:00-05:00

By Donald Zuhn -- Last week, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued an update to its obviousness guidelines, publishing a notice in the Federal Register (75 Fed. Reg. 53644) that highlights case law developments on obviousness since the Supreme Court's 2007 decision in KSR Int'l Co. v. Teleflex Inc. The update supplements the Office's 2007 guidelines, in which the Office identified seven rationales gleaned from the KSR decision (see "Patent Office Issues Examination Guidelines Regarding Obviousness after KSR"). The Office indicates that the update to the obviousness examination guidelines is intended to remind Office personnel of the principles of...

Second Circuit Denies En Banc Reconsideration in Cipro® Case

2010-09-08T23:55:00-05:00

In re Ciprofloxacin Antitrust Litigation By Kevin E. Noonan -- The Second Circuit today denied plaintiffs' petition for rehearing en banc of its decision that the "reverse payment" agreement between Bayer and Barr over ciprofloxacin hydrochloride (Cipro®) was not anticompetitive under the antitrust laws. One judge, Rosemary S. Pooler, dissented from the decision, as she had dissented from the original panel decision. And her dissent illustrates the point of disagreement, if not the flaw in her arguments (and that of others, including the Federal Trade Commission) that such agreements should be per se illegal. To recap, Bayer holds U.S. Patent...

Goeddel v. Sugano (Fed. Cir. 2010)

2010-09-07T23:59:00-05:00

By Kevin E. Noonan -- Today the Federal Circuit reversed a priority determination in an interference over claims to human beta-interferon, in an opinion teeming with irony, déjà vu, anachronism, and the peculiar effects on outcome caused by the form of interference counts. Two interferences, Nos. 105,334 and 105,337 between Junior Party David Goeddel and Robert Crea and Senior Party Haruo Sugano, Masami Muramatsu, and Tadatsigi Tanaguchi, were directed towards claims to isolated human DNA encoding beta-interferon (also termed "human fibroblast interferon" or hFIF in the opinion) as well as the isolated interferon protein itself. The "DNA Interference" was declared...

Eli Lilly & Co. v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. (Fed. Cir. 2010)

2010-09-06T23:48:52-05:00

By Kevin E. Noonan -- The old proverb "success has many fathers, while failure is an orphan" comes to mind when considering the Federal Circuit's decision in Eli Lilly & Co. v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. In the Court's decision, repeated failures, even by Lilly scientists in developing its osteoporosis drug Evista® (raloxifene hydrochloride), were sufficient to defeat Teva's counterclaim that patent claims related to methods of use were obvious. The action arose following Teva's ANDA filing containing a Paragraph IV certification that the patents-in-suit were invalid (there was no discussion in the opinion of any inequitable conduct allegations below)....

Court Report

2010-09-05T23:24:10-05:00

By Sherri Oslick -- About Court Report: Each week we will report briefly on recently filed biotech and pharma cases. Pfizer Inc., et al.v. Mylan Inc. et al. 1:10-cv-06463; filed August 20, 2010 in the Southern District of New York • Plaintiffs: Pfizer Inc.; Pfizer Products Inc.; C.P. Pharmaceuticals International C.V. • Defendants: Mylan Inc.; Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc. Infringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 7,265,119 ("Tartrate Salts of 5,8,14-Triazatetracyclo[10.3.1.02,11.04.9]- Hexadeca-2(11),3,5,7,9-Pentaene and Pharmaceutical Compositions Thereof," issued September 4, 2007) and 6,890,927 (same title, issued May 20, 2005) following a Paragraph IV certification as part of Mylan's filing of an ANDA to manufacture...

Conference & CLE Calendar

2010-09-05T23:17:42-05:00

September 7-9, 2010 - BioPatent Design (Pharma IQ) - Munich, Germany September 8, 2010 - Biotechnology/Chemical/Pharmaceutical (BCP) Customer Partnership Meeting - 10:00 am - 4:15 pm September 12-14, 2010 - 2010 Annual Meeting (Intellectual Property Owners Association) - Atlanta, GA September 15, 2010 - Prior Art & Obviousness 2010: Current Trends in Sections 102 & 103 (Practising Law Institute) - San Francisco, CA September 16, 2010 - Developments in Pharmaceutical and Biotech Patent Law 2010 (Practising Law Institute) - New York, NY (Groupcasts to be held in Philadelphia, PA; Pittsburgh, PA; Mechanicsburg, PA; New Brunswick, NJ; and Boston, MA) September...

IPLAC Patent Law Symposium 2010

2010-09-03T22:54:23-05:00

The Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago will be holding its Patent Law Symposium 2010 from 8:45 am to 5:00 pm on October 1, 2010 at the Union League Club of Chicago. The Symposium will offer presentations on the following topics: • Life Under the N.D. of Illinois Local Patent Rules and Jury Instructions -- Hon. James Holderman, Chief Judge of the N.D. of Illinois; Hon. Sidney Schenkier, Presiding Magistrate Judge of the N.D. of Illinois; and Allan Sternstein of Dykema Gossett • Recent Developments In IP Law: The Year In Review -- Edward D. Manzo of Husch Blackwell Sanders...

GW Seminar on Patentable Subject Matter

2010-09-03T22:51:44-05:00

The George Washington University Law School Intellectual Property Law Program will be holding a seminar on "Patentable Subject Matter: 35 USC § 101" from 9:30 am to 12:45 pm (EDT) on September 20, 2010 at The George Washington University Law School, 716 20th Street NW in Washington, DC. The seminar will offer presentations on the following topics: • Keynote Address -- Hon. Paul R. Michel, former Chief Judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit • Bilski's Aftermath: Software, Business Methods and Abstract Ideas (panel discussion) -- Robert W. Bahr, Senior Patent Attorney, Office of the Deputy...

Biotech/Pharma Docket

2010-09-02T23:40:10-05:00

By James DeGiulio -- Sepracor Settles with Wockhardt in Lunesta Patent Suit Sepracor has reached a consent agreement with Wockhardt, thus settling its infringement suit over the sleep drug Lunesta. In March 2009, Sepracor brought suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey against several generic companies who intended to make generic versions of the sleep drug Lunesta (see "Court Report," March 29, 2009). Sepracor alleged that the generic makers' ANDAs infringed four patents covering the drug: U.S. Patent Nos. 6,319,926; 6,444,673; 6,864,257; and 7,381,724. In June 2010, the District Court denied Wockhardt's inequitable conduct claim,...

Federal Circuit Grants Injunction Pending Disposition of Lilly v. Actavis Elizabeth

2010-09-01T23:59:00-05:00

By Donald Zuhn -- The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued an Order today in Eli Lilly & Co. v. Actavis Elizabeth LLC, granting Lilly's request for an injunction to prevent Defendants-Appellees from launching generic versions of Lilly's ADHD drug Strattera® until Lilly's appeal has been resolved. On August 25, Lilly filed a notice of appeal seeking review of a decision by the District Court for the District of New Jersey invalidating Lilly's U.S. Patent No. 5,658,590 for lack of enablement, and then immediately moved for an injunction pending disposition of its appeal. Defendants-Appellees opposed Lilly's request...