Patent Risk Management
Dr. Kalyan C. Kankanala
Vikram Pratap Singh Thakur
Website: www.bananaip.com
Blog: www.bananaip.com/sinapse-blog
Copyright 2010 BananaIP
Risk Sources
• Internal– Generation– Excavation– Protection– Management
• External– Infringement– Transactions
• Patent Risks
Patent Rights
• Territory• Product Patent - Make, Use,
Sell, Offer for Sale and Import.• Process patent - Use
Infringement
• Types –Direct
• Literal• Equivalent
– Indirect
Direct Infringement
• Claim Construction• Comparison• Claim by claim - element by
element
Claim Construction
• Claim
• Preamble • Transition• Body• “ What I claim is a composition for treatment of pain
comprising; 10 percent by weight Benzocaine and atleast one of propylene glycol and glycerine as a co-solvent.”
Claim Construction
• Preamble - A composition for treatment of pain
• Transition Phrase - comprising• Body - 10 percent by weight
Benzocaine and atleast one of propylene glycol and glycerine as a co-solvent.
Claim Elements
• 10 percent by weight Benzocaine
• Propylene glycol or Glycerine
Is this product infringing?
• 1. What I claim is a composition for treatment of pain comprising;10 percent by weight Benzocaine and atleast one of propylene glycol and glycerine as a co-solvent.
• “A gel for treating neuropathies causing pain at a site by inducing analgesia. The gel is administered intradermally. The gel has 8-12 percent by weight of Benzocaine and D-Sorbitol and Water as co-solvents.”
Doctrine of Equivalence
• Equivalents of a claim• In substance equivalent• Function-Way-Result Test• Prosecution History Estoppel• Obviousness Test – Material
Effect – Part of prior art
Lalabhai v. Chimanlal
• Process of treating dry fruits• Comparison • Sulphuric Acid - Washing Soda• muriatic acid - Acetic acid• Sulphur dioxide fumes under
pressure - Sulphur dioxide fumes without pressure
NTP v. RIM
• Black Berry Technology• RIM held liable for
infringement• Damages – 612 million dollars
Indirect Infringement
• Contributory Infringement• Inducement to infringe
Defenses
• Government use• Research Exemptions• Experiments or education• FDA approval• Other Defenses
Steps
• FTO Search and Analysis• Infringement analysis• Technology Landscape
Example 1
• Claim 1- In an micronized glyburide anti-diabetic pharmaceutical composition as a unit dose, containing one or more pharmaceutically acceptable excipients, the improvement which comprises:
spray-dried lactose as the preponderant excipient in said composition, being present therein at about not less that seventy percent (70%) by weight of the final composition.
Product
• Micronized glyburide compositions with anhydrous lactose as the principal excipient.
• Additional facts: Patent holder’s representative said that spray-dried lactose is a critical feature of the present invention. Using lactose which is not spray-dried does not yield a formulation which is easily and readily manufacturable.
• Is the product infringing?• Pharmacia & Upjohn Co. v. Mylan Pharmaceuticals, Inc.,170 F.3d 1373
(C.A.Fed. (W.Va.), 1999)
Example 2
• Title of Invention - Polymerization of Ethylene
• Claim 1. Polymerization catalyst comprising the product formed by mixing an effective amount of an aluminium trialkyl with a compound of a metal selected from the group consisting of salts, freshly precipitated oxides and hydroxides of metals of Groups IV-B, V-B and VI-B of the Periodic System, including thorium and uranium.
Process
• The process comprises of polymerization of butadiene. The polymerization process includes the reaction of three components, i.e. aluminum triethyl, titanium tetrachloride and iodine in the presence of butadiene to produce cis -polybutadiene.
• Is the claimed product being infringed by the working of this process?• Ziegler v. Phillips Petroleum Company 483 F.2d 858 (5th. Cir., 1973)
Example 3
• Claim 1. A hydrosol which comprises solid particles of a cyclosporin and a stabilizer which maintains the size distribution of said particles, wherein said cyclosporin has a water solubility below 0.5 grams per 100 milliliters, and said particles have a weight ratio of cyclosporin to water of about 1:300 to about 1:1500 and a weight ratio of cyclosporin to said stabilizer of about 1:1 to about 1:50.
Product
• Product is in the form of a capsule that contains cyclosporin dissolved in a small amount of ethanol instead of a hydrosol.
• Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. v. Eon Labs Mfg. 363 F.3d 1306 (Fed. Cir., 2004)
Risk Management
• Risk Assessment and Categorization
• Actions
– Search and FTO Analysis– Technology Landscaping
• Options
– Work around– Collaborate– License– Infringe– Defend
IP Resources•
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IP Resources
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Indian Patent law and Practice
Patents play a very vital role in providing business and competitive advantage to knowledge driven companies. In order to maximize business benefits from inventive activities, companies must be aware of the dynamics of patent law and activities of competitors. Swift response to changes in law and patent behavior of other companies is necessary to deal with cut throat competition. The rapid progress of patent activity in India requires every organization to be alert and watchful in order to survive and succeed in the market place.For more information on the book please visit: www.indianpatentlaw.com
Thank you
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