Patent Litigation Update: GSK/PTO Fight Continues; Alzheimer's Institute Sues Pfizer
Executive Summary
Battle over patent rules continues: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit agreed to rehear en banc a suit seeking to block Patent and Trademark Office rules. A three-judge panel found in March that rules to limit the number of continuation applications are invalid but those limiting requests for continued examination and requiring support documentation are within the scope of PTO's rulemaking authority ("The Pink Sheet," March 30, 2009). Inventor Triantafyllos Tafas and GlaxoSmithKline sued to block the rules. The hearing before the full court is scheduled for Oct. 7. The case is being closely watched by the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, which filed amicus briefs opposing the rules