In In re: Skelaxin (Metaxalone) Antitrust Litigation, Eastern District of Tennessee Judge Curtis L. Collier denied a motion to dismiss multidistrict litigation accusing King Pharmaceuticals, a Pfizer subsidiary, and Mutual Pharmaceutical Co. Inc. of conspiring to keep generic versions of the muscle relaxer drug Skelaxin off the market. In 2005, King and Mutual settled infringement […]
Category Archives: Patent Litigation
Federal Court Remands Reverse Payment Case to State Court
June 21, 2013 – 1:58 pm
In State of West Virginia v. Pfizer Inc. et al., District of West Virginia Judge Robert C. Chambers remanded, at West Virginia’s request, the state’s case alleging that Pfizer entered an anti-competitive settlement of a patent dispute with a generic Lipitor manufacturer and engaged in other anticompetitive conduct designed to delay the generic’s introduction into […]
EU Finds Google Too Aggressive in Attempt to Enforce Patents
June 21, 2013 – 1:56 pm
The European Commission issued a statement of objections to Google subsidiary Motorola Mobility indicating the Commission’s concern that the company may have abused its dominant market position when seeking to ban sales in Germany of Apple products that allegedly infringe Motorola’s standard essential mobile phone patents. In the EU, patented technology that manufacturers must use […]
Patent Holder Seeks to Litigate Licensing Terms in State Court Under Recent Supreme Court Case
April 16, 2013 – 1:58 pm
In Gunn v. Minton, the United States Supreme Court held that patent-related legal malpractice suits should be heard in state court. Motorola has argued to the Federal Circuit that under the Court’s Gunn rationale that appellate court lacks jurisdiction over Apple’s appeal in a suit alleging that Motorola failed to license its patents on fair, […]
Refusal to License USB Patents Case to Move Forward
March 21, 2013 – 5:07 pm
In Lotes Co. Ltd. v. Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Ltd. et al., Southern District of New York Judge Shira A. Scheindlin refused to dismiss a claim that Foxconn International Inc. anticompetitively refused to license standard-essential USB patents to a competitor on fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory (FRAND) terms. Foxconn argued that the patented technology was […]
EU Finds that Drug Makers Violated Antitrust Laws by Slowing Generic Entry
March 21, 2013 – 5:06 pm
The European Commission has preliminarily concluded that Johnson & Johnson and Novartis violated EU antitrust law by agreeing to delay the introduction of the generic painkiller fentanyl. J&J agreed to make a reverse payment to delay entry of the generic for about 18 months. The commission will conduct additional analysis before reaching a final conclusion. […]
AAI Supports Notice of Patent Transfers
March 19, 2013 – 1:19 pm
The American Antitrust Institute has joined those urging the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to require companies transferring patents to make a public filing providing notice of the transaction. In November, the USPTO concluded that “[a]n incomplete ownership record . . . presents a significant barrier to competition and market efficiency.” The AAI concurred in […]
Refusal to Deal on Patent Licensing Case Dismissed
February 25, 2013 – 9:03 am
In Cascades Computer Innovation LLC v. RPX Corp, Northern District of California Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers dismissed with leave to amend an antitrust case by Cascades Computer Innovation alleging that several Android device makers had conspired to refuse to deal with it. Cascades alleged that the companies agreed that none of them would engage in […]
Foreign Drug Maker Lacks Antitrust Standing If It Does Not Compete in the U.S.
February 23, 2013 – 5:51 pm
In Ethypharm SA France v. Abbott Laboratories, the Third Circuit held that because Ethypharm chose to license its anti-cholesterol drug Antara for U.S. distribution, rather than entering the US market itself, the plaintiff lacked standing to sue Abbott Laboratories for conspiring to keep Ethypharm’s drug off the market. Ethypharm alleged that Abbott agreed with Reliant […]
GSK Settles Generic Flonase Law Suits
February 23, 2013 – 5:49 pm
In IBEW-NECA Local 505 Health & Welfare Plan et al. v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., Eastern District of Pennsylvania Judge Anita B. Brody approved a settlement between GlaxoSmithKline PLK (GSK) and two groups of plaintiffs. The class action accused the defendant of restraining competition by preventing rivals from marketing generic versions of the allergy medication Flonase. […]