Patent Baristas

Blue Cross/Blue Shield and other insurers have sued GlaxoSmithKline in a dispute over the generics market of Paxil. The insurers are alleging that Glaxo has been gaming the patent system to keep cheaper generic alternatives to the antidepressant off the market. Glaxo lost its patent on Paxil in 2003. They accuse Glaxo of violating federal […]

The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) heard arguments from Monsanto Corporation on the patentability of genetic markers, known as Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs). (In re Fisher, Fed. Cir., No. 04-1465; May 3, 2005) Monsanto argued that its application should not have been rejected by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for […]

Yes, its been somewhat of a slow week on the bio/pharma patent news front. So what to write about that is still patent related? Boeing Co. engineers have found a way to increase the size of those claustrophobia-inducing aircraft lavatories. Yes, a more spacious bathroom on airplanes. Mind you, I am a petite 5 feet […]

Somewhere around the world, likely around Sunday, May 8 or Monday, May 9, 2005, the one billionth cumulative acre of biotech crops was planted, as reported by the policy analysts for Truth About Trade and Technology (TATT). Just how big is a billion acres? It’s really big. A billion square acres would cover the entire […]

The Washington Post reported that a three-judge panel for the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia said the Federal Communications Commission had exceeded its authority in requiring built-in, anti-piracy technology to let broadcasters and studios prevent digital shows from being copied. The “broadcast flag” would have been required in digital televisions […]

I thought since its an absolutely beautiful Friday here in Cincinnati, I’d write about a lighter topic and focus today’s post on two of my favorite things – animals (and dogs in particular for this post) along with patents and patent reform. (Okay, so this post is about one of my favorite things.) Now, what […]

Now, what might you ask do these things have in common? Well, in what some reports claim to be a “surprise” announcement by Merck, the drug company announced today that Raymond V. Gilmartin was stepping down as chief executive of and that a longtime company insider, Richard T. Clark, would replace him. Frankly I don’t […]

We’re seeing more interest in patenting of micro- and nanotechnology inventions. Red Herring recently ran an interesting article describing a report by Lux Research entitled “The Nanotech Intellectual Property Landscape,” showing that, as of March, there were 3,818 nanotechnology patents issued by the USPTO with 1,777 more pending. The report describes a “crowded and entangled […]