Lacosamide Patent Valid_District Court Decision

UCB has received a major boost after a Delaware district court confirmed the validity of the company’s patents on one of its major drugs, the anti-seizure drug Vimpat (lacosamide). The case relates to ANDA litigation and involves patent number RE38551 (OB Listed). The court agreed with plaintiffs general characterization of the record: Vimpat® is the result of Dr. Kohn’s decade long […]

Federal court clarifies Test For Patentable Subject Matter_Abstract ideas

The Federal Circuit on Aug 1, 2016, upheld a district court’s summary judgment against Electric in Electric Power Group, LLC v. Alstom S.A., No. 2015-1778 (Fed. Cir. Aug. 1, 2016). This case involves the eligibility for patenting, under 35 U.S.C. § 101, of certain claims of three of Electric Power Group, LLC’s patents, U.S. Patent Nos. 7233843, 8060259, and 8401710. Electric’s claims […]

Compulsory Licensing Rejected

India has decided against giving the compulsory licence for Anglo-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca’s key antidiabetes compound Saxagliptin sought by Hyderabad-based Lee Pharma. The Controller of Patents office rejected the application on the grounds that substitutes to the drug are readily available in the market and Lee Pharma’s claim that requirements of public with respect to the patented invention are not being […]

Google and Microsoft make Patent Peace

Patent wars that plagued the early years of the smartphone industry moved a big step closer to resolution on October 30, 2015, as Google and Microsoft reached a settlement to end some 20 patent lawsuits. In a joint statement, the two companies declared: “Microsoft and Google are pleased to announce an agreement on patent issues. As part of the agreement, the companies will dismiss […]

Copyright of “Happy Birthday to you” is Invalid

In a decision issued on September 22, 2015 Judge King ruled the copyright invalid, finding that though Summy Co. may have owned the copyright to “Good Morning to All,” it never had proper rights to the “Happy Birthday” lyrics. The “Happy Birthday” song dates to late 19th century work by a schoolteacher named Patty Smith Hill and her sister Mildred Hill The Hill sisters […]