Industry responses to the European Commission (EC) preliminary report on pharmaceutical competition (see the IPilogue blog of Dec. 15, 2008) are becoming available, and criticism has been abundant. In no uncertain words professional associations are wondering aloud whether the EC properly interpreted the facts or, more generally, misconstrued the purposes of the current patent system. […]
A few weeks ago, the Honourable Paul Michel sat down for an interview with Professor Doug Lichtman from UCLA School of Law. Judge Michel is the current Chief Circuit Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and in that capacity he has much experience dealing with patent litigation cases. Much […]
The global economic downturn continues to make its impact. A few months ago, I mentioned the possibility that patents might be used to leverage credit, in the face of cautious lenders. Bloomberg.com is reporting that firms might be more desperate: “Small-cap technology companies from Silicon Valley to Israel, struggling to raise enough money to survive […]
The balance between private and public interests is usually the centre of most intellectual property policy debates, but this can be said to be especially significant with medical research performed by publicly funded institutions. In a nation such as ours where the health of our citizens is a responsibility of the government, public funds invested […]
In a recent U.S. patent dispute between two information technology players, a court has ruled that a patentee’s destruction of potentially relevant evidence may be sanctioned by a declaration of patent unenforceability. The ruling in Micron Technology, Inc. v. Rambus, Inc. (Civ. No. 00-792-SLR, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1260 (D.Del., Jan. 9, 2009)) penalizes Rambus, a […]
Greg Hagen is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Calgary. While James Thomson’s claims to primate embryonic stem cells in U.S. Patent 5,843,780 (granted December 1st, 1998) were finally upheld on reexamination by the U.S. Patent and Trade-mark office in 2008, no Canadian patent was ever granted on these […]
Nada Basir is a PhD candidate at the Schulich School of Business at York University in the area of Strategic Management and Policy. The increased use of patents has sparked a critical debate not only at the legal level, but also across the science, management and policy literature. Whereas IP studies were once for the law academics, […]
Professor Correa is the Director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies of Industrial Property Law and Economics, University of Buenos Aires and is a member of IP Osgoode’s International Advisory Council The objective of the patent system is to promote innovation. There is growing evidence, however, about the strategic use of patents as a tool […]
On Thursday, December 11, as part of the IP Osgoode Speaks series, Jason J. Kee, the Director of Policy & Legal Affairs for the Entertainment Software Association of Canada (ESAC) gave a talk on intellectual property issues in the computer and video gaming industry. The event, held downtown Toronto at Ogilvy Renault’s office, provided lawyers […]
Criticism leveled at pharmaceutical companies for their competitive practices has taken on a new dimension with the preliminary report from an inquiry of the European Commission (EC). The report on the Pharmaceutical Sector Inquiry, released November 28, confirms the existence of business tactics that are restricting competition in the European pharmaceutical market. The inquiry […]