Number Of Unique Patent Assertions Declined Over Years, Patexia Finds 17/08/2016 by Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Pedram Sameni of Patexia writes: We recently studied the PTAB data and suggested that although the rise and fall in litigation indirectly affected the rise and fall in IPR challenges, the true driver of IPR challenges is the number of unique patents asserted each year. To learn more, we decided to look at the number of unique patents asserted against different defendants since 2010. We made several interesting discoveries, including the surprising fact that even though the number of cases has been rising, the number of unique patents asserted each year has been declining.
MSF Hearing On Opposition To Pfizer Pneumonia Patent In India 28/07/2016 by Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF, Doctors Without Borders) filed a patent opposition in March in India to prevent Pfizer from patenting a pneumonia drug and will defend its position in a hearing tomorrow at the Indian Patent Office.
US High Court Restores Treble Damages For Patent Infringement 26/07/2016 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Pulse Electronics was guilty of patent infringement. That had been decided long ago. The only remaining issue was how much Pulse must pay for its wrongdoing. The company could be liable for treble damages, provided its infringement was willful. Fortunately for Pulse, willful infringement was almost impossible to prove, thanks to a standard established by the Federal Circuit. Unfortunately for Pulse, its lawsuit reached the US Supreme Court. And in its recent ruling on the case, the high court threw out the Federal Circuit’s standard, making it far easier to prove willful infringement. The decision is likely to have an important impact on patent litigation, the courts, and companies doing business in the US.
Blockstream’s New Patent Strategy: Trust Us, We Won’t Sue You 21/07/2016 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Blockstream, which developed the blockchain technology and bitcoin, has announced a defensive patent strategy. The crux of it: assurance that users of its technology won’t be sued.
WHO Updates Patent Status Info For New Hepatitis C Medicines 20/07/2016 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The World Health Organization has issued updated information on the patent status of hepatitis C medicines, including assessments of hurdles for affordable generic versions of latest drugs.
Patenting By Universities Unhelpful, Paper Says; WIPO Programme To Be Reviewed 19/07/2016 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments A new publication analysing the relationship between intellectual property and access to science explores ways countries have developed to counter the potential barriers created by IP rights, and says patenting by universities is counterproductive.
Gilead’s Use Of Patents For $10B Tax Dodge Could Ignite Move For Policy Change 13/07/2016 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Gilead is the US company whose use of patents to charge $1000 per pill for a hepatitis C medicine in the United States helped make high drug prices a developed country household issue and fodder for elected officials seeking change. Now the company has come under further fire after being found to have moved some US$10 billion overseas to avoid US taxes – even after having received US taxpayer support for its activities – which it orchestrated by moving its patent rights overseas. A new report detailing the company’s tax dodge includes a proposal for a way to clamp down on this type of patent activity.
Focus On Medicines Patents & Prices Alone May Do More Harm Than Good 12/07/2016 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Populism is in vogue these days and critics of pharmaceutical patents are trying to ride the wave, claiming that undermining patents will dramatically decrease prices but not reduce innovation. Both sides of that claim are flawed, writes Steven Tepp.
V4 Countries Launch Visegrad Patent Institute As Region’s First ISA, IPEA 08/07/2016 by Jaroslaw Adamowski for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment With the aim of strengthening regional cooperation in intellectual property, the four member states of the Visegrad Group, which comprises Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, launched the Visegrad Patent Institute (VPI) on 1 July. Applicants will be allowed to communicate with the institutions in their respective mother tongues, and fees for Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) applications will be reduced by as much as 40 percent, according to Poland’s Patent Office (UPRP).
Generic Manufacturing Deals For HIV And Hepatitis C Treatments Signed At Medicines Patent Pool 07/07/2016 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Today the Medicines Patent Pool announced the signing of nine new sub-licensing agreements for the generic manufacturing of key HIV and hepatitis C treatments.