This somewhat goes with the times and inventors are facing the same, as technology is moving so much faster, royalties are getting hard to come by and as consumers we pay.  There’s nothing wrong with rewarding inventors and those with patents, but like the lifespan of almost every other imagetechnology out there, something new is replacing the technology before the patent or rules of intelligent property expire.  Even the pharmaceutical companies are fighting among themselves on this one.  Teva is one example with bringing questions about Singulair and the Merck patent in place.

Merck and Teva Go to Court over Singulair Going Generic

Sanofi Patent Protections Expiring – Looking to Joining the Generics

If the judges do not make the patents retro-active, it seems like the pharma company could be challenged in another legal area, the generic companies wanting to manufacture a version of the drug.  BD 

WASHINGTON, July 7 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court has said it would rehear a fight between drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK.L) and the patent office over new rules aimed at cutting a backlog of patent applications.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit had largely sided with the Patent and Trademark Office on March 20, upholding all but one of the four rules that Glaxo had opposed.

But the court vacated that ruling in an order dated July 6 and said it would rehear the case en banc, which means 12 judges will consider the case. The original panel was three judges.

Glaxo had argued that the rules were substantive, and beyond the scope of the patent office to change unilaterally.

The new rules were designed to force companies to submit shorter patent applications, but a decision to make those rules retroactive prompted fears from companies like Glaxo that they would have to refile applications that exceeded the new limits.

U.S. court to rehear spat over patent office rules | Deals | Regulatory News | Reuters

0 comments :

Post a Comment

 
Top
Google Analytics Alternative