Here is IP Think Tank’s weekly
selection of top intellectual property news breaking in the blogosphere and
internet.

Highlights this week included: the WTO granting Antigua the right to
infringe US copyright up to the tune of $21m, Egypt’s proposed new law for
royalties on reproductions of ancient monuments and Teva’s gutsy launch of
Protonix (Pantroprazole).

Please join the discussion by adding your comments on any of these stories,
and please do let me know if you think we’ve missed something important, or if
there is a source you think should be monitored.

You can separately subscribe to the IP Thinktank Global week in Review at http://feeds.feedburner.com/DuncanBucknellsGlobalWeekInReview

Global

• WTO grants Antigua and
  Barbuda the right to waive US intellectual property rights worth up to $21
  million: (IPKat),
  (Against
  Monopoly), (IAM),
  (Intellectual
  Property Law Blog), (The Register),
  (Patry
  Copyright Blog),
• New year brings prospect of
  new WIPO leader, budget agreement: (Intellectual
  Property Watch),
• Importance of IP for development
  in least developed countries emphasized at high level forum: (WIPO),
• Are patents worth the paper
  they’re printed on?: (Intellectual
  Property Directions),
• The young do not see
  copyright as a right: (Against Monopoly),
• Patent Troll concludes
  ‘patent litigation is out of control’: (Against Monopoly),
• Are university researchers
  at risk for patent infringement?: (Patent Lens),
• Patent reform for
  innovation and risk: A separation of powers approach: (Patent Lens),
• A patent grab for power: (Patent Lens),
• Freely sharing innovation
  is the only way to face the future: (Patent Lens),
• Top 5 freedom to operate
  tips: (IPThinkTank)

Pharma

• Patent reform: just found
  on pharma’s radar???: (IPBiz),
• Sinorgchem v.
  International Trade Commission and Flexsys America: CAFC instructs
  the ITC on claim construction: (IPBiz),
  (Patent
  Prospector), (more from IPBiz)
• Anonymised net drug sales
  might yet infringe – Eli Lilly & Company and Lilly Icos LLC v 8PM
  Chemists Ltd: (IPKat),
• Open source for cost
  effective drug discovery: (Spicy
  IP),
• Challenges to ethical and
  generic drug producers: (Profitability
  through simplicity),
• US: multiple courts – same
  patent: a reader’s response: (Generic
  Pharmaceuticals & IP)
• Avastin (Bevacizumab) – Genentech and
  ophthalmologists’ dispute over reformulation ban has been resolved: (Patent
  Docs),
• Aricept ODT (Donepezil) – Eisai
  sues Mutual Pharmaceutical Co., Inc. and United Research Laboratories,
  Inc. claiming that its ANDA filing for Aricept ODT would infringe Eisai’s
  composition of matter patent: (SmartBrief)
• Effexor (Venlafaxine) – Sun
  Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd applies for approval to sell a drug with the
  same active ingredient as Wyeth’s Effexor XR, but in extended-release
  tablet rather than capsule: (Generic
  Pharmaceuticals & IP),
• Insulin – Wockhardt’s opposition
  to Lilly: (Generic
  Pharmaceuticals & IP)
• Lyrica (Pregabalin) – Northwestern
  University received $700M from Royalty Pharma for certain royalty rights
  to its patents covering pregabalin, a key component of Pfizer’s Lyrica: (Chicago
  IP Litigation Blog),
• Neupogen and Neulasta
  (Filgrastoim) – Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research has filed a
  lawsuit against Amgen, claiming the drugmaker underpaid royalties on the two
  drugs: (SmartBrief),
• Omeprazole (Losec /
  Prilosec) – Astra’s patent application for omeprazole formulation rejected
  by Indian Patent Office (Generic
  Pharmaceuticals & IP),
• Protonix (Pantroprazole) – Teva
  Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. has launched a generic version of the
  heartburn pill some 2½ years before Wyeth’s U.S. patent  is set to expire in July 2010: (The
  IP Factor), (Generic
  Pharmaceuticals & IP)
• Tarceva (Erlotinib) – Thailand’s
  proposed compulsory licence: (Generic
  Pharmaceuticals & IP),

Australia

• Scent marks unpopular in
  2007: (Australian
  Trade Marks Law Blog),

Canada

• Big day for fair copyright:
  (Michael Geist)

China

• China trade mark law: simple
  and effective: (China Law Blog),

• Yahoo China
  loses copyright suit for online music search: (TG Daily)

Egypt

• Egypt proposes new law requiring payment of royalties whenever
  its ancient monuments are reproduced: (IPKat),
  (Patry
  Copyright Blog), (The
  IP Factor)

Europe

• Discussion of the Lisbon
  Treaty amending the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing
  the European Community: (IPKat),
• EPO has announced a
  punitive fee schedule effective April 1, 2009, that will punish applicants
  filing more than 15 claims in an application: (IPKat),
  (IPEG),
• New European duties
  expected for trade mark royalties and license fees: (IP
  Updates),
• ‘Must fit’ invalidates
  Community design: (IP
  Updates)

India

• Indian Patent Office receives
  ISA & IPEA recognition: (Competitive
  info),
• Moser Baer’s pricing
  strategy: The new anti-piracy model?: (Spicy
  IP),
• Petition to increase
  transparency at the Indian Patent Office: (Spicy
  IP),
• Copyright, music licenses
  and New Year parties: (Spicy
  IP)

Ireland

• Dunnes Stores has lost its
  bitterly-contested design dispute against UK-based fashionistas Mosaic
  Fashions: (IPKat),
  (Counterfeit
  Chic)

United Kingdom

• Nokia v InterDigital:
  High Court rules on essentiality of patents under 3G standard (IPKat),
  (IPEG),
  (Stockhouse)
• Experience Hendrix LLC &
  Anor v Times Newspapers Ltd: Times given more time to gather evidence
  to defend copyright infringement claims: (IPKat)
• A pub landlady has lost her
  High Court battle over using a foreign broadcaster to show live English
  Premier League football matches to her customers: (ITN)

United States

• What do people actually
  think copyright is?: (Patry
  Copyright Blog),
• IP cases to watch in 2008:
  (IP
  Law360),
• IP legislation to watch in
  2008: (IP
  Law360)
• Electronic documents as
  prior art at the USPTO: (IPBiz),
• Internet prior art must not
  be temporal: (IP
  Updates),
• On the reliability of
  Wikipedia for prior art in patent analysis: (IPBiz),
• ‘Peer-to-patent’ project: (Patent Lens), (Washington
  State Patent Law Blog), (IPBiz),
• Bob Spar on the anticipated
  final IDS Rules: (PLI
  Patent Blog),
• US patent application size
  increasing: (IP
  Updates),
• USPTO-JPO patent
  prosecution highway opens 4 January: (IP
  Updates), (Patent
  Docs)
• PCT fee adjustments for 1 January 2008: (IP
  Updates),
• Trade mark, patent law, and
  Hague Treaties get U.S. Senate approval: (IP
  Updates),
• Patent reform discussion in
  the Senate: (Patent
  Docs), (Washington
  State Patent Law Blog),
• Depressions, radicals,
  Wobblies, and patent reform: (IPBiz),
• Proposed patent reform and
  the market for ideas: (Patent
  Prospector),
• Rising claim counts: (Patently
  O),
• Counting design patents: (Patently
  O)
• District Court of Columbia dismisses
  suit seeking dismissal of PTO’s Deputy Director, Margaret Peterlin, for
  lack of sufficient experience: (Chicago
  IP Litigation Blog),
• Public interest groups file
  amicus in ‘support’ of continuation rules in ED Va: (Peter
  Zura’s 271 patent blog),
• Burden of proof in profit
  claims: Phoenix Renovation Corporation v. Rodriguez (Patry
  Copyright Blog),
• KSR and the doctrine
  of equivalents: (The
  Fire of Genius),
• PLI poll results – 68% say
  eliminate rule 56: (PLI),
• Design patents –
  controlling pendency: (Patently
  O),
• USPTO to halt weekly paper publication
  of USPTO Practice and Procedure Notices: (Patent
  Docs)

 

• AT&T – Vonage to settle with AT&T in patent
  infringement dispute: (Ars
  Technica),
• eBay – US District Court finds
  eBay intentionally violated MercExchange’s patent: (Mondaq),
• Fairchild Semiconductor Corp – Delaware District
  Judge finds that patentee had contracted away the right to sue defendant,
  Power Integrations Inc.: (Delaware IP Law Blog)
• Google – US Appeals Court partially upholds, partially
  vacates summary judgment in patent dispute between Hyperphase and Google:
  (Patent
  Prospector), (Philip
  Brooks),
• Illumina – USPTO orders re-examination of two
  patents included in the patent litigation between Illumina and Affymetrix:
  (Yahoo
  Canada Finance), (RTT
  News),
• iRobot Corp. – iRobot wins patent suits against former
  employee Jameel Ahed and his company, Robotic FX, Inc.: (Fox
  Business), (Business
  Week),
• Marriott – Third Circuit considering how to analyse
  false celebrity endorsement claims under the Lanham Act in Lewis v
  Marriott International Inc.: (43(B)log)
• Qwest Communications – Qwest settles patent litigation
  with Ronald A. Katz Technology: (Philip
  Brooks)
• Van Cleef & Arpels – Heidi Klum and Mouawad sued
  for infringement of Van Cleef &Arpels’ four-leaf clover jewellery
  design: (Counterfeit
  Chic),
• Yahoo – Ars submits prior art for Yahoo’s ‘smart
  drag-and-drop’ patent application using peer-to-patent system: (Ars
  Technica)