Drug wholesalers have sued Merck in the District of New Jersey alleging that it violated the antitrust laws in two ways. First, the complaint alleges that Merck obtained a patent for its Singulair asthma and allergy drug through fraud on the patent office, and in particular for failing to disclose its own prior art. Second, Merck filed […]
Category Archives: US Federal Courts
Court Permits Patent Acquisition Antitrust Case to Proceed
August 10, 2009 – 5:05 pm
In Federal Trade Commission v. Ovation Pharmaceuticals Inc., and State of Minnesota v. Lundbeck Inc.,a Minnesota District Court Judge Joan N. Ericksen denied Lundbeck Inc.’s attempt to toss out the pair of suits launched by the FTC and the state of Minnesota, accusing the drug-maker of jacking up the price of NeoProfen, a drug used to treat […]
Ocean Spray Hit With Antitrust Claims in Patent Suit
August 7, 2009 – 2:07 pm
In Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc. v. Decas Cranberry Products Inc., Decas Cranberry Products Inc. filed a counterclaim in a patent infringement suit brought against it by Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc., alleging that Ocean Spray’s patent infringement suit was filed in “bad faith” in order to 1) scare away firms interested in purchasing Decas; and 2) to discount Decas’ asking price […]
Former NCAA Athletes Sue for Publicity Rights
August 7, 2009 – 11:40 am
A class of former NCAA athletes has filed suit in the Northern District of California alleging that the NCAA rule requiring athletes to convey their publicity rights during their days as student athletes to the NCAA in perpetuity constitutes a concerted refusal to negotiate a revenue sharing agreement with the athletes.
Transpacific Air Travel Price Fixing MDL Initiated
August 7, 2009 – 11:18 am
Multi-district civil litigation is moving forward in the Northern District of California under the name In re: Transpacific Air Transportation Antitrust Litigation. The recently amended complaint now alleges that nearly 20 airlines participated in a conspiracy to fix transpacific prices from 2004 to 2007. The complaint is said to include extraordinary detail on the lockstep imposition […]
Enforcement Agencies Continue to Challenge Patent Infringement Reverse Payments
August 1, 2009 – 12:15 pm
Update August 2009: The House Energy and Commerce Committee has approved a bill banning reverse payment settlements and granting the FTC authority to oversee settlements. Similar legislation is pending in the Senate. The FTC and the state of California have filed suit challenging reverse payment settlements of patent disputes involving the testosterone supplement AndroGel. The […]
House Sub-Committee Reports Bill to Overturn Leegin Leather
July 30, 2009 – 11:06 am
Update July 2009: The Courts and Competition Policy sub-committee of the House Judiciary Committee reported out a bill that would reverse Leegin and restore the per se rule. Although the current version had no exceptions, representatives generally supporting the measure also expressed support for limiting provisions that would permit Resale Price Maintenance in circumstances likely […]
Ninth Circuit Rejects Monopoly Leveraging Claim
July 16, 2009 – 7:05 am
The Ninth Circuit has rejected a monopoly leveraging claim against Abbot Labs. In that claim, plaintiffs alleged that Abbot violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act by increasing the price of Norvir, an HIV booster drug on which it held a monopoly position, while leaving at competitive levels the price for Kaletra, a protease inhibitor […]
Nurse Wage Fixing Case Survives Motion to Dismiss
July 15, 2009 – 2:46 pm
Update July 2009: The court has certified a class of per diem nurses, but refused to certify a separate class of traveling nurses on the ground that their fee arrangements differed significantly more and thus common questions did not predominate. In Jane Doe et al. v. Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association et al., Arizona District […]