The IPKat brings you its usual list of forthcoming events plus some interesting articles/papers/blogs to browse.
Events
First of
all, a reminder that UNION-IP is hosting Tim Moss CBE, Chief Executive, UK
Intellectual Property Office at their spring dinner meeting on Thursday 8 March 2018
at the Royal Overseas League. In this
period of unprecedented change within the UK intellectual property system, Tim
will offer his thoughts on the main issues facing the UK IPO and the UK
professions, as well as an overview of what next year holds in store for the
Office. Full details and tickets can be
obtained through EventBrite.
 |
| Kat's idea of a spring dinner |
Also on 8 March 2018,
the The British Literary & Artistic Copyright Association (BLA©A) will host
the seminar “Cultural Heritage Institutions and Immersive Technologies: Monetisation
and Copyright”. This seminar is part of a a project being conducted by
Queen Mary, Univ. of London and Goldsmiths, Univ. of London, in collaboration
with several UK heritage institutions. For more information on the seminar, see
here.
The Centre
for Intellectual Property and Information Law will host the Thirteenth Annual
International Intellectual Property Lecture, delivered by Professor Jessica
Litman, on the topic of "Copyright and Property-Think". The
lecture will take place on Tuesday, 13 March 2018 at the Emmanuel College, Queen's Building Lecture Theatre.
For more information and registration, see here.
On 14 March 2018,
Oxfirst will host a webinar on the topic “Are Important Innovations
Rewarded? Evidence from Pharmaceutical Markets”, presented by Professor
Margaret Kyle. The talk will discuss the research, focussing on the “relationship
between therapeutic value and different measures of market rewards (the number
of patents, price, market share, and total revenues) of a new treatment.” For registration
see here.
Maastricht
University will host the event “Innov-AI-tion Law for Technology 4.0”
which will focus on AI, its impact on society and the need for a regulatory framework.
The event will take place on 6 April 2018 at the Maastricht University Brussels
Campus, for more information and registration see here.
Papers/publications/posts
In June 2018, the first issue of the Stockholm IP Law Review is
scheduled to be published! The review is a student-led publication, which will
focus on issues of European Intellectual Property issues. If you are interested
in reading or contributing to this project, you will find more information here.
The
European Parliament published the extensive study by Dr. Jan Nordemann Liability
of Online Service Providers for Copyrighted Content – Regulatory Action Needed?
See here
for a full abstract and to download the paper.
Fellow IP
Blog Solo IP: for sole and small IP , decided to stop its activities. With the
post The
Soil Never Sleeps Barbara Cookson
bids farewell to the blog’s readers. Best wishes from the IPKat to Solo IP for
its future endeavours!
If you are
interested in the Pregabalin issue, there are two interesting articles to look
at.
The first, The clinician impact and financial cost to the NHS of
litigation over pregabalin: an economic impact analysis, by Richard Croker,
Darren Smyth, Alex Walker and Ben
Goldacre (for full abstract and paper download, see here); the
second, a blog post by The IP Alchemist Why
were the SPCs for Pregabalin allowed to lapse? I have a theory…
Monday Miscellany
Reviewed by Cecilia Sbrolli
on
Monday, March 05, 2018
Rating:
Reviewed by Cecilia Sbrolli
on
Monday, March 05, 2018
Rating:
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Posts
I would like to reply to Darren's post, but unfortunately it cannot be anonymous. Troll! No. Employed? Yes. Obviously certain people cannot comment and for others it is unwise even if in no way involved. I speak as one having no knowledge of the Pfizer actions.
ReplyDeleteThe priority issue is certainly plausible as a validity argument, but I think even Darren would agree it would fail as an attack. There is specific case law directly on the issue of enantiomer novelty with the same facts. In any case, this potential invalidity would not have stopped any right-thinking attorney from filing an SPC.
I agree also about the potential for a competition commission attack for obtaining an SPC on a knowingly-potentially-invalid patent, however, again, this would not be sufficient to warrant abandonment. The Italian decision on abuse is utterly ridiculous and Pfizer would not err in acting to protect their interests even in the face of such challenges.
At no time could Pfizer have been considered to enforcing knowingly invalid rights because the priority argument is too weak.
So, why abandon the SPC? As Darren noted, the applicant is Northwestern University. The applicant in the later-expiring neuropathic pain use case is Warner Lambert (Pfizer). If we assume there was no validity or competition law concerns, the answer must either be a simple commercial decision or a mistake. On both counts, Pfizer may wish not comment.
An SPC on the compound patent would have resulted in the extension of royalty payments to Northwestern. However, market protection was available without royalties by virtue of the use patent. The SPC would have expired May 2018, 10 months post-expiry of the use patent. Is it possible there was more profit for Pfizer in abandoning the SPC?
I am surprised the licence with Northwestern didn't require the SPC filing, but it is also possible a deal was reached. After all, the pain market was an unexpected bonus.
Another question relates to the lack of filing of an SPC on the use patent instead.
It is all very murky. Darren, I suggest you make a formal request of Pfizer for information.
Thanks for your comments, Anon. I am sorry that my personal blog is not suitable for anonymous comments, and I do appreciate the issue.
ReplyDeleteI agree that there is "specific case law directly on the issue of enantiomer novelty", but the cases I am thinking of (eg escitalopram) do not seem to me to have the "same facts". What case are you thinking of?
I am also not clear how the use patent could have formed the basis for an SPC since the first marketing authorisation was not in respect of pain, so at the time of the issuance of the first marketing authorisation, the use patent did not protect the product.
Your comments on ownership are very interesting and I shall ponder them. I cannot believe that it was a "mistake" as it is actually quite hard to abandon an SPC in multiple countries simultaneously.
Best wishes
Darren
I hadn't thought through the use SPC.
ReplyDeleteThe economics of patents and the direct effect on the manufacturers are frequently measured in court cases with reimbursement to one side or the other commonplace. The direct effect on the NHS is also clear, although difficult to measure (in principle irrelevant, but the cost to Pfizer and the generics on losing has also been difficult to quantify).
ReplyDeleteThe question I have is whether there is any basis for a claim from the NHS? I know they acted in some ways on instructions / recommendations from the courts, but where they a part to the proceedings that suffered damage? I see that Highland Health Board were a proposed defendant in the early case, but was this followed through?
Is there a tort applicable to this position?
It is the EPO case law which dominates in respect of selections and which would be followed by the UK courts. The founding cases are, as you know, all listed in the EPO Case Law book, one of which is that Pfizer again. My favourite selection cases from the courts are the olanzapine decisions (US, UK, DE). Nothing to do with enantiomers, but practically speaking, hugely significant. Enantiomers are nice to have, but new compounds essential. Novelty is the easy part.
ReplyDeleteTo the Anon above who asks the basis for a claim from the NHS - that is a very good point. The decision granting the order to issue the prescribing guidelines (handily reported on IPKat http://ipkitten.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/warner-lambert-v-actavis-mark-4-harmony.html and the judgment is on BAILII http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Patents/2015/485.html) has this at para [24]:
ReplyDeleteAs mentioned above, there was one issue between the parties, which concerned the ambit of the cross-undertaking in damages to be given by Warner-Lambert contained in Schedule 3 to the order. Warner-Lambert was content to give a cross-undertaking in favour of NHS England and the Department of Health. Actavis, Teva and Dr Reddy's requested that the benefit of the cross-undertaking should be extended to (i) the Actavis group of companies, (ii) the Teva group of companies and (iii) Dr Reddy's respectively. Warner-Lambert resisted this. Neither Mylan nor Sandoz nor Consilient requested that the benefit of the cross-undertaking be extended to them, but Mylan reserved the right to apply for this in the future.
So it is this cross-undertaking that would serve as a basis for any claim.