Category: International IP
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By Todd Shand — On 15 March 2013, the Australian Federal Court upheld Eli Lilly's patent for the active compound in their highly successful product ZYPREXA®. Lilly successfully defended the validity of the patent against a wide-ranging attack by the well-known generic pharmaceutical manufacturer Apotex. Wrays is pleased to have been able to work together…
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On 26 February 2013, the UK government announced a proposed change to the Patents Act to exempt clinical and field trials, as well as "health technology assessments," e.g., tests to obtain data to support assessment by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), for any new drugs from any claim of patent infringement.…
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In January, the Mexican Senate published a Bill adding article 23 bis to the Industrial Property Law (IP Law). This Bill intends to establish a "special" life term for patents claiming a substance or a mix of substances regulated by article 221, sections I to III of the Health Law; that is: drugs, active ingredients…
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By Charlotte Teall — Background Rule 140 EPC does not explicitly relate to the correction of patents, but to the correction of EPO decisions. However, until now, the European Patent Office (EPO) has allowed patentees to correct the text of a Patent after grant using Rule 140 EPC. Recent decision (G1/10) The Enlarged Board of…
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By Donald Zuhn — On Tuesday, the Council of the European Union announced that twenty-four member states had signed the international agreement that would establish a Unified Patent Court (UPC), a specialized court having exclusive jurisdiction over infringement and validity questions related to unitary patents. The Council release noted that Bulgaria was expected to sign…
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By Vicky Longshaw and Gary Cox — In a significant win for Myriad, and their licensee Genetic Technologies Ltd, the Australian Federal Court on Friday upheld Myriad's method patents used in cancer screening for mutations in the BRCA1 gene. This decision will provide much-needed certainty to gene patent holders in Australia. The applicants in the matter,…
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By Martin O'Brien — On Friday, the Federal Court of Australia handed down its decision in the case of Cancer Voices Australia & Anor v Myriad Genetics Inc & Ors. The presiding judge, Justice Nicholas, identified the issue in the case as one "of considerable importance," framing the question to be decided as whether a…
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By Donald Zuhn — Last month, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) issued a report indicating that worldwide intellectual property filings showed strong growth in 2011 despite a global economy that continued to underperform. In particular, the report on 2012 World Intellectual Property Indicators notes that patent filings grew by 7.8% in 2011, the second…
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By Donald Zuhn — USPTO and EPO Announce Formal Launch of Cooperative Patent Classification System On January 2, both the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and European Patent Office announced the formal launch of the Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) system, a global classification system for patent documents (see USPTO press release and EPO press release). …
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EPO Board of Appeal Decision T1839/11 By Christopher Bond — Background The patent Following grant of a patent to Novozymes in November 2009, the patent was asserted in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK. Danisco filed an opposition in March 2010. An opposition division revoked the patent in July 2011 and an EPO board…
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