In three recent decisions, released in July and August, the Federal Court addressed questions concerning inventors and the “invention story” during Canadian patent litigation. The Court found that: (i) a patentee has no duty to facilitate inventor discovery; (ii) patentee’s counsel can object to questions during an inventor examination; and (iii) a patent challenger must … Continue reading
On April 20, 2023, the federal government tabled legislation (Bill C-47) that would amend the Patent Act to bring, for the first time, a system of general patent term adjustment (PTA) into Canada. Canada is required under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) to adopt a PTA system by 2025. The PTA system is intended to … Continue reading
On April 26, 2023, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) released its 2023 Special 301 Report on intellectual property. The report keeps Canada on a Watch List of 29 U.S. trading partners that “merit bilateral attention to address underlying IP problems”. The report is the USTR’s annual review of the global state of … Continue reading
The Federal Court has dismissed two infringement actions brought against defendants under subsection 6(1) of the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations (Regulations), following a common trial on the validity of Canadian Patent No. 2,562,277 (277 Patent). The Court found that all the asserted claims – to uses for treating multiple sclerosis (MS) – were … Continue reading
The Federal Court dismissed Pharmascience Inc.’s (Pharmascience) motion to determine a question of law on the issue of whether a first person can commence an action under subsection 6(1) of the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations (PM(NOC) Regulations) for a drug for which there are no patents listed on the patent register. The Court … Continue reading
Treaty/Act: CETA/Bill C-30 (An Act to implement the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between Canada and the European Union and its Member States and to provide for certain other measures) With Canada moving closer towards implementing the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), major reforms to Canada’s Patent Act are coming soon, including the availability … Continue reading
Case: Apotex Inc v Eli Lilly Canada Inc, et al (SCC Docket 37368) Drug: CIALIS® (tadalafil) Nature of case: Application for leave to appeal decision upholding prohibition order granted pursuant to section 6 of the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations, SOR/93-133 (the Regulations) Successful party: Eli Lilly Canada Inc. and ICOS Corporation (collectively Eli Lilly) Date of decision: April … Continue reading
Recent pharmaceutical cases in regulatory and intellectual property law have resulted in developments on several fronts, including: regulatory matters; patent validity and damages; Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations proceedings; and class actions. In this paper, we review some of the most notable Canadian decisions from 2015 that will continue to impact the legal landscape … Continue reading