The outline of CETA has arrived – but its full text is still in transit. On what we know of the intellectual property aspects of CETA, Canada got the short end of the proverbial stick.
At long last, the Canadian Federal Government and the European Commission announced in October that a political agreement has been reached regarding the much anticipated Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). Although the full-text of the agreement has yet to be revealed, Canadians have a pretty good idea of the way in which CETA will affect […]
A little over a week ago, the Fraser Institute, a prominent and independent Canadian public policy think tank, released a report calling for a strengthening of intellectual property protection for pharmaceuticals in Canada. The report claims that the changes would produce an increase in trade opportunities and access to foreign markets that would generate an […]
The Myriad Genetics gene patenting saga has officially shaped international jurisprudence, with the Federal Court of Australia upholding the patents for BRCA1 and BRCA2. In Cancer Voices Australia v. Myriad Genetics, NSD643/2010, Federal Court of Australia (Sydney), the first Australian case to deal with the issue of gene patents, the Court took a similarly liberal […]
On November 30, 2012 the US Supreme Court agreed to hear the appeal in the case of Association for Molecular Pathology v Myriad Genetics Inc. In particular, the Court limited its grant of the appeal to the first question posed by the petitioners: “Are human genes patentable?”
On November 8, 2012 the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) released its eagerly anticipated decision in the “Viagra Appeal”. In a unanimous decision written by Justice LeBel, the SCC found the patent at issue invalid for insufficient disclosure. This decision marks the end of a lengthy legal battle between Teva and Pfizer over the validity […]
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, in the case Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) and ACLU v. USPTO and Myriad Genetics (Myriad), held in August that isolated genes are a patent-eligible subject matter. The Court of Appeals reaffirmed its prior ruling on the matter, which was recently covered by IP Osgoode.
Canada has been lobbying to enter the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), and its efforts have seemingly paid off with an exclusive invite to the secretive nine-member club on June 19, 2012. With Ottawa championing its economic benefits and potential, there are many asking a simple question – what have we given up?
On June 16, 2012, the Canada Gazette, published the proposed new regulations formalizing procedures before the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (the Board). These proposed new regulations represent an effort to enhance the efficiency of hearings before the Board through the formal adoption of codified practices and terminology already utilized by the board; the incorporation […]
In a bold move, China has rewritten parts of its intellectual property laws to allow for Chinese companies to make generic copies of life-saving medication still under patent. These domestically produced drugs will be offered for substantially less than what their North American and European pharmaceutical competitors currently charge. The changes will provide local drug […]