Excessive Pricing And Sham Patent Litigation: The Pfizer And AbbVie Decisions 03/07/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Frederick Abbott writes: Competition law is a critical tool in seeking to maintain some semblance of reasonable pricing in the pharmaceutical market. It is particularly important as legislators around the world appear extremely hesitant to address pharmaceutical pricing in meaningful ways, regrettably influenced by well-funded lobbying. Two recent competition law decisions discussed below illustrate the importance of and challenges to regulating the pharmaceutical sector. In the first, the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) partially upheld and partially reversed and remanded (pending briefing) a decision by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) fining Pfizer and Flynn close to £90 million for abuse of dominant position in the excessive pricing of an anti-epilepsy drug. The CAT decision is problematic because it creates unnecessary and unwarranted hurdles to findings of excessive pricing in the UK. In the second decision, the US Federal Trade Commission succeeds in proving that AbbVie engaged in abuse of monopoly power by engaging in sham patent litigation against two generic producers in order to delay market entry of competitive products. The Federal District Court found that AbbVie’s patent lawyers by “clear and convincing” evidence had knowingly pursued patent infringement claims without chance of success for no other purpose than to delay market entry.
145 Organisations Urge EU Vote Against JURI Mandate On Copyright 03/07/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Some 145 organisations have signed an open letter urging European Parliament to vote against the Legal Affairs (JURI) Committee mandate to negotiate on copyright reform. The European Parliament will meet on 5 July for a plenary vote on whether or not to endorse the mandate.
Leaders On Global Trade Discuss Leadership And Current Trade Challenges 03/07/2018 by Damilola Adepeju for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A recent event jointly organised by the Graduate Institute Centre for Trade and Economic Integration and the United Kingdom Department for International Trade and its Mission to the WTO brought together several leaders on global trade to discuss the current challenges in trade and how best to address them.
Data Localization (Nearly) Banned In EU 21/06/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The European Parliament, Council and European Commission on 19 June cut a deal on a new regulation on the free flow of non-personal data. The regulation, which is expected to pass the final votes in Parliament and Council without further issue, is a European answer to concerns over potential data localization obligations, which came into some demand following the Snowden revelations about intelligence services hoovering data from netizens.
EU Copyright Reform Proposal Clears Lead Legislative Committee, To Cheers And Jeers 20/06/2018 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments The European Parliament Legal Affairs Committee (JURI) adopted its report on the European Commission-proposed copyright in the digital single market directive yesterday. The vote, by the lead committee vetting the proposal, sparked a continuation of the acrimonious debate that has raged for many months over several controversial provisions: The creation of a new right for online publishers and a requirement that Internet platforms monitor users’ uploads for copyright infringements. The narrow majority that approved the report by German Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Axel Voss, of the European People’s Party, “suggests that the struggle is still long,” telecom consultant Innocenzo Genna blogged.
EPO Staff, Users List Priorities For Incoming President 19/06/2018 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment As the European Patent Office (EPO) prepares to welcome a new president, staff members and patent practitioners are setting out their priorities and suggestions for the newcomer, António Campinos. Topping the list for patent examiners is ending the contentious relationship between management and employees. Patent attorneys and litigators, meanwhile, want to see more attention paid to creating a fair balance between the speed of patent grants and patent quality.
World’s 5 Largest IP Offices Name Artificial Intelligence A Top Strategic Priority 15/06/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The heads of the patent offices of China, Europe, Korea, Japan and the United States met today and declared artificial intelligence one of the top strategic priorities for them as a group. Other efforts included work on harmonising patent practices, the Global Dossier program, classification of new technologies, and patents and standards, according to a release.
European Commission Appoints Artificial Intelligence Expert Group, Launches AI Alliance 14/06/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The European Commission appointed 52 experts today to a new High-Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence, and also launched the AI Alliance, an online forum to facilitate broad participation in dialogue on the burgeoning technology.
Former Munich Mayor Warns Against Negative Effects Of City’s Re-Migration To Microsoft 12/06/2018 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The former mayor of Munich, Christian Ude (Social Democratic Party), clashed with the new head of IT of the Bavarian capital over the city’s re-migration from Linux to Microsoft at an event organised by the Green Party yesterday.
EUIPO Study Looks At State Of IPR Infringement In The EU 06/06/2018 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A report published today by the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) deplores rising volume of intellectual property rights infringement in both immaterial goods and digital content and warns against the economic effects for the Union.