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)