A Dose of Consistency: SCOTUS Settles the Controversy in Teva v Sandoz for Patent Litigation

In Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc  v Sandoz Inc, a patent infringement case evolved into an opportunity for the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) to settle a decades-long controversy regarding how the Federal Circuit should review patent construction claims. By convention, the Federal Circuit has reviewed such claims de novo, ignoring Rule 52(a) of […]

IP Year in Review 2014 - The Perpetual Motion of IP Law

Giuseppina D’Agostino is the Founder and Director of IP Osgoode, the IP Intensive Program, and the IP Osgoode Innovation Clinic, the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of the IPilogue, the Deputy Editor of the Intellectual Property Journal, and an Associate Professor at Osgoode Hall Law School.   2014 was another exciting year in intellectual property (IP) law. […]

Certainly Commendable but Perhaps not Practical – Canada’s Competition Bureau Releases Guidelines on Pharmaceutical Patent Litigation Settlements

On September 23, Canada’s Competition Bureau (“the Bureau”) announced  landmark guidelines regarding the consideration of pharmaceutical patent litigation settlements under Canada’s competition law framework. The Bureau’s guidelines on this issue were released as part of a white paper titled Patent Litigation Settlement Agreements: A Canadian Perspective. These settlement agreements attract concern from competition regulators due […]

In Proving Foresight May Be Vain: Federal Court Vacates Bifurcation Order Just a Few Months After Granting It

Originating back in 2006, the litigation between Pfizer and Apotex over Pfizer’s blockbuster drug, Lipitor, has been long and arduous. With many twists and turns in these proceedings, Pfizer's most recent motion to amend its statement of defence and counterclaim led to yet another surprising result. The motion brought by Pfizer is part of the proceedings commenced by Apotex […]

Apotex Successfully Invalidates Patent on Nexium

AstraZeneca has been selling Nexium in Canada for 13 years.  It is prescribed to treat ulcers, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and related diseases. The active ingredient in Nexium is esomeprazole, one of the enantiomers of omeprazole.  Omeprazole is also prescribed to treat these same diseases. Canadian patent no. 2,139,653 (the 653 patent) claims esomeprazole with […]

China’s Bitter Medicine for Gilead: SIPO Cancels Viread Patent

Last August, China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) invalidated the core patent for Gilead Sciences' flagship drug Viread (as was reported by IPR Daily and a number of other news sources).  This landmark ruling comes on the heels of recent changes to China's compulsory licensing scheme for pharmaceutical products.  This quick-step of legislative reform followed by the […]

"Meringue" is not an Ingredient in Lemon Meringue Pie: Defining "Identical Medicinal Ingredient"

What do cooking and chemistry have in common? Apparently, the former provides great analogies to explain the latter. Apotex has recently applied for judicial review of a decision of the Director General of the Therapeutic Products Derivative (TPD) concerning its generic drug, Apo-Telmisartan. While several issues were raised in the application, of particular interest was […]

IP Intensive Program: Experiential Learning at Actavis

My 10 week internship at Actavis’ Canadian arm (formerly known as Cobalt), through Osgoode’s IP Intensive Program coincided with a very exciting time for the company. The company recently expanded through a number of acquisitions to make it the third-largest generic pharmaceutical company globally, with commercial operations in more than 60 countries worldwide.

Canada’s IP Laws and the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA): Canada Got the Short End of the Proverbial Stick

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.

CETA: A Very Reasonable Canadian-esque Compromise on Pharmaceutical Intellectual Property Law Changes

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 […]