Patent Baristas

AstraZeneca has been fined £60m (about $73 million) by the European Commission for illegally trying to prevent generic competition to its best-selling ulcer drug Losec. After a six-year investigation, the EC said the firm gave incorrect information about when the drug was first approved, enabling the firm to extend the patent’s life. Losec (omeprazole) is […]

While the U.S. Supreme Court’s opinion did not extend the statutory research use exemption to patented research tools under 35 U.S.C. ss.271 (e)(1) in Merck KGaA v. Integra LifeSciences I, Ltd . (2005 WL 1386324 (U.S.)), the Court unanimously ruled for a broader interpretation of the exemption from patent infringement for use of a patented […]

Seth Godin, listed as an author, entrepreneur and agent of change, recently published his thoughts that Small is the New Big. He argues that while big used to matter, small is now where it’s at. [Disclaimer alert: I work for a law firm with 370+ attorneys spread over seven offices] In weaving together a conclusion […]

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington today upheld an earlier decision that three patents held by Purdue Pharma LP can’t be enforced because of misrepresentations to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office about the painkiller’s effectiveness thus giving Endo Pharmaceutical Holdings Inc. the right to sell a generic version. OxyContin, […]

Maybe we’re on to something with coffee and legal work. The Editor of the Blawg Review suggested we trademark Patent Baristas and set up a new shop after seeing this posting on George Lenard’s Employment Blawg (photo by Fifi LePew/Marcia Cirillo via flickr) We won’t ask why he was looking for “law & coffee” but […]

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that Pfizer and other drug companies have the right to sell unbranded versions of their own drugs even if they undercut sales of generic competitors in a suit by Teva Pharmaceutical, which sought to stop Pfizer from selling its own generic version of […]

It appears that the Commonwealth of Kentucky has it out for blogs. As detailed by Ben Cowgill on his Legal Ethics Blog, the Kentucky Attorney’s Advertising Commission has taken the position that a weblog is an advertisement. This is the result of Rule 7.02 of the Kentucky Code, which states: 7.02 “advertise or “advertisement” means […]

Bill Heinze of I/P Updates recently posted a note about “A Step-By-Step Guide To Getting a Patent,” which ran in the Wall Street Journal’s Startup Journal. The article quotes a U.S. Patent Office spokeswoman as saying that 63% to 65% of applications are eventually allowed as patents, but then displays the following “reality check:” I […]