In its decision dated June 30, 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC), allowed the appeal in AstraZeneca Canada Inc. vs. Apotex Inc. from the earlier decision of the Federal Court of Appeal, where AstraZeneca’s Patent No. 2,139,653 covering its blockbuster drug NEXIUM® (esomeprazole) was invalidated for failing to fulfill its inferred “promise” to provide “improved pharmacokinetic and metabolic properties which would give an improved therapeutic profile such as a lower degree of interindividual variation.” The promise doctrine had developed at the Federal Court level over the past few decades and had increasingly become a weapon of choice for generic pharmaceutical companies in efforts toRead More →

The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) has released a Patent Landscape Report – Shale Oil and Gas. The Report covers technologies used as part of the extraction and refining processes in the shale oil and gas subsector of the oil and gas sector and examines 3,986 patent families filed between 2000 and 2012. Some of the highlights of the Report include: The top five applicants account for 12% of the total patenting activity worldwide related to shale oil and gas China and the United States account for 66% of all filings Halliburton and Schlumberger are active in technologies related to “drilling” and “well formation” TheRead More →