Region: North America

It is already difficult to translate the promise of personalised medicine into clinically validated diagnostic tests. Now it seems the bar has been raised regarding the proper disclosure requirement in Canada.

28 October 2009

The Federal Circuit has granted a petition to re-hear the appeal in a case filed by Ariad Pharmaceuticals against Eli Lilly concerning the regulation of NF-kB to ameliorate the effects of certain diseases. Accused of infringement were the Eli Lilly drugs Evista and Xigris.

23 September 2009

The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has ruled that “a trademark is obtained fraudulently under the Lanham Act only if the applicant or registrant knowingly makes a false material representation with intent to deceive" the Patent and Trademark Office.

16 September 2009

Executives often underestimate the value of their marketing tools when assessing their company’s worth. Indeed, the brand under which a company’s products or services are offered is often overlooked by the company in favour of the products or services themselves. This mindset can result in expensive mistakes and lost opportunities.

29 July 2009

If passed, the Patent Reform Act of 2009 would convert the current patent scheme in the United States from a "first to invent" system to a "first to file" system. This would result in a shift from an inventor-centric system to one favouring an applicant. Among other advantages for applicants, the necessary paperwork for patent filings would be streamlined.

15 July 2009

The US International Trade Commission has become an increasingly popular venue for patent infringement litigation. Such actions are brought pursuant to Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 and are available to owners of US patents, provided that the "domestic industry" requirement is met. Recent developments show that the ITC will continue to be an attractive and popular forum for IP disputes.

17 June 2009

The Federal Circuit recently released two important decisions concerning the patentability of biotechnology claims: one concerning written description and the other concerning obviousness.

06 May 2009

In a majority decision the Federal Circuit has upheld the US Patent and Trademark Office's authority to limit effectively the number of continuations and to require applicants to conduct a prior art search if presenting more than a limited number of claims.

22 April 2009

On 31st March 2009 Canadian trademark opposition practice changed when a new practice notice issued by the Trademarks Opposition Board came into force. Significant features include the introduction of a cooling-off period and clearer guidelines with respect to the granting of extensions for opposition deadlines.

22 April 2009

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice recently applied the Supreme Court of Canada's 1999 <i>Cadbury Schweppes</i> decision - when the Ontario Court granted an injunction enjoining a party from proceeding with a hostile takeover bid based on obligations of confidence contained in an agreement it was not even a party to.

16 April 2009