The FDA reported to Congress that pharmaceutical companies owning branded drugs may be filing 505(q) petitions for reconsideration (aka “citizen petitions”) to delay approval of generic versions of their drugs. The agency expressed concern that the need for it to respond to bogus petitions delays its ability to perform other necessary regulatory work. The process […]
Category Archives: Noerr-Pennington
Congress Examining Drug Companies’ Allegedly Improper Use of Citizen Petitions to Delay FDA Approval of Generic Drugs
October 31, 2013 – 3:49 pm
Allegations that Copyright Owners Conspired to Restrain Competition Dismissed
July 3, 2013 – 11:11 am
In Metropolitan Regional Information Systems Inc. v. American Home Realty Network Inc. et al., District of Maryland Alexander Williams Jr. dismissed antitrust claims arising in a copyright infringement case. The court held that the defendant real estate referral service did not plausibly allege that the plaintiff conspired to file sham copyright infringement suits intended to […]
Respirator Manufacturer Violates Antitrust Laws by Enforcing Patents Obtained by Fraud
January 23, 2013 – 9:01 am
In Transweb LLC v. 3M Innovative Properties Co. et al., a District of New Jersey jury found that defendant 3M Innovative Properties attempted to enforce two patents that it had obtained by fraud and violated the antitrust laws. The plaintiff, a supplier of filtration materials and 3Ms only competitor for certain government certified respirators, had […]
Federal Circuit Rules That Direct Purchasers May Sue to Void Patent Obtained by Fraud
December 21, 2012 – 3:13 pm
In Ritz Camera & Image LLC v. SanDisk Corp., the Federal Circuit held that the purchasers of a patented produce may file a monopolization suit based on the claim that the defendant obtained the patent by defrauding the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. The decision allows a class action challenging a SanDisk Corp. flash memory […]
AndroGel Drug Patent Litigation Not a Sham
October 31, 2012 – 3:48 pm
In In Re: AndroGel Antitrust Litigation (No. II), Northern District of Georgia judge Thomas W. Thrash granted defendants summary judgment on antitrust claims alleging that Solvay Pharmaceuticals Inc. filed sham patent infringement litigation to delay the entry of generic Androgel. The court had previously dismissed a claim challenging a reverse payment agreement between Solvay and […]
Breach of SSO Commitment Enforceable By Competitors, but Not as Antitrust Violation
September 11, 2012 – 10:35 am
In Apple Inc. v. Motorola Mobility Inc., Western District of Wisconsin Judge Barbara B. Crabb granted summary judgment against Apple on antitrust claims, but allowed its contract claims to stand, in a case alleging that Motorola Mobility refused to license its standard-essential patents on fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory terms. Although Motorola’s commitments to standard-setting organizations […]
Puerto Rico Court Denies Motion to Dismiss Cable Company’s Antitrust Suit
August 20, 2012 – 10:19 am
In Puerto Rico Telephone Co. Inc. v. San Juan Cable LLC d/b/a OneLink Communications, Puerto Rico District Court Judge Gustavo A. Gelpi denied San Juan Cable LLC’s motion to dismiss Puerto Rico Telephone Co. Inc.’s suit accusing the company of violating federal and Puerto Rico antitrust by filing numerous lawsuits against PRTC to prevent it […]
Insurer Trademark Suit Not Sham Litigation
August 17, 2012 – 9:51 am
In Darba Enterprises Inc. v. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. et al., District of Nevada Judge Hicks dismissed the plaintiffs’ antitrust claim arguing that the defendant’s trademark enforcement suit against the plaintiff constituted anticompetitive activity. Amica had sued alleging that Darba violated its trademark by using it in websites that inaccurately suggested that Darba could provide […]
Sixth Circuit Affirms Dismissal Antitrust Challenge to the States’ Tobacco Settlement
March 2, 2012 – 3:56 pm
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed the dismissal of a defunct tobacco manufacturer’s antitrust lawsuit against the 1998 master settlement agreement between states and tobacco companies. The plaintiff, Vibo Corp. dba General Tobacco, claimed that the other tobacco companies’ successfully lobbied the state attorneys general to block General Tobacco from amending its settlement […]
Class Certified in Case Alleging that It Delayed Generic Entrant
June 3, 2011 – 9:04 am
Update November 2010: The court has certified a class of direct purchasers. Eastern District of Pennsylvania Judge Anita B. Brody rejected Glaxo-SmithKline’s (GSK) motion to dismiss a case alleging that it anticompetitively delayed the entry of generic Flonase into the market by filing citizens petitions before the FDA. GSK argued that its conduct was protected […]