Patent Law Practice Center

Top 5 Patent Law Blog Posts of the Week

Today we are debuting a weekly installment highlighting the best of the patent blogosphere from the past week. Highlights include USPTO updates and announcements, as well as the expiration of the patent for the world’s best selling prescription drug – ever.

1. IP Watchdog: USPTO Announces More PPH Agreements, China and Iceland – Several announcements came out of the USPTO this week regarding launches for Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot programs with China’s State Intellectual Property Office, the Icelandic Patent Office, as well as the start of the Paris Route PPH program. This post details how the PPH programs facilitate work-sharing benefits worldwide.

2. Patents Post-Grant: USPTO to Implement New Ex Parte Appeal Rules for 2012 – At the beginning of the week, the USPTO released the final rule package regarding the Rules of Practice Before the Board of Patent Appeals & Interferences in Ex Parte Appeals. This post explains the application of the new rules and how they will impact ex parte proceedings and ex parte reexamination. *PLI will be hosting a One Hour Briefing on the USPTO’s new rules on Jan. 9, 2012. Stay tuned for more information. Also check out information regarding PLI’s  Post-Grant USPTO Proceedings 2012 – The New Patent Litigation Seminar on Feb. 3, 2012.

3. Reexamination Alert: Judge Randa Refuses to Lift Reexamination Stay Despite Patentee’s Success (So Far) with Examiner – This post from Westerman, Hattori, Daniels & Adrian, LLP shares an interesting twist to the use of the 35 U.S.C. Section 316(a) standard for “complete” reexamination. In Generac Power Systems v. Kohler, the twist came when an accused infringer invoked Section 316(a) to maintain a reexamination stay rather than the more common practice of the patentee using the section.

4. TIME: Lipitor Already Cheaper After Patent Expiration – Pfizer’s patent for their best selling prescription drug, Lipitor, expired this week. According to this article, Pfizer’s sales from Lipitor averaged at about $11 billion dollars per year, which ends up being roughly one-sixth of Pfizer’s total sales. Because of the patent’s expiration, Pfizer is now doing what it can in order to preserve whatever claim it has to Lipitor, including selling the drug at a steep discount (to counter-act the sale of the generic drug at an estimated 80% discount), as well as paying pharmacies to spread the news to its customers about the discount. How Pfizer reacts to losing the patent for the best selling prescription drug of all time will have an impact on how the rest of the pharmaceutical market handles patent expiration.

5. Patently-O: Holiday Gift List for Patent Attorneys and the Like – Although this blog post is from last week, I thought it would be good to share right before the weekend, considering the holiday season is upon us and all types of holiday parties (whether they be office or social) are popping up each week. Patent attorneys deserve cool presents too, and this list is full of great and very different gift ideas. Enjoy!