Patent Baristas

Abbott Laboratories announced that it will not launch new medicines in Thailand in response to the military-installed government’s decision not to honor the company’s patent for an AIDS drug.  On January 29th 2007 the Thai Ministry of Public Health announced that it would issue compulsory licenses for Kaletra and for Plavix, an anti-platelet medication that […]

Thailand’s Ministry Of Public Health has announced plans to grant a five-year, compulsory license to produce a lower-cost version of Merck’s antiretroviral drug Efavirenz — a move that appears to be legal under the World Trade Organization’s Doha Declaration (an amendment to the WTO’s TRIPS Agreement). Thailand is looking to save on the cost of […]

Eastman’s divestment of its PET business in the EU to Indorama ended up in Delaware federal court as the licensor’s patent infringement action.  Eastman Chemical Company v. AlphaPet Inc. et al. (09-CV-971).  Named as defendants are the Indorama licensees, and affiliates, and a U.S. subsidiary, AlphaPet. The complaint raises interesting problems about a licensor suing […]

Patents, trade secrets and confidentiality agreements are mere words on paper to the scientist, engineer or executive intent on deception and theft. And if you have outsourced your research and development efforts overseas to countries with unenforced intellectual property laws and cultural norms that ignore individual property rights, then the intent to deceive and thieve […]

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Intellectual Property Center (GIPC) released its thirty-page report on U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recommendations to President-elect Barack Obama, highlighting needed reforms to modernize the federal agency’s patent arm. The report focuses on intellectual property (IP) since the U.S. IP-intensive industries employ nearly 18 million workers, account for […]

A new website popped up recently that is an attempt to serve as a global resource for dialogue on intellectual property rights and its role in advancing research and innovation. The site, called Essential Innovation, is an online forum that will feature commentary and analysis on the importance of continued innovation, and the potential consequences […]

In a new paper “Confronting Myths and Myopia on the Road from Doha,” Daniel Cahoy, associate professor of business law at Penn State’s Smeal College of Business, looks at recent patent compulsory licenses issued by Thailand in terms of balancing access and innovation in essential medicines. The WTO’s Doha round of trade negotiations expanded the […]

Brazil decided to break the patent on the HIV drug Storcrin (the brand name for efavirenz), becoming the second country to challenge the pharmaceutical industry in seeking a drastic reductions in drug costs. Brazil’s President signed a compulsory licence for efavirenz to purchase from generic suppliers under provisions permitted by World Trade Organization rules. Brazil […]