Chinta & Fratangelo LLP

Entecavir Obvious?

In this Hatch-Waxman case, Bristol-Myers Squibb, owner of the drug entecavir (sold as Baraclude®, indicated for hepatitis B (HBV) infection), sued Teva Pharmaceuticals for patent infringement. Teva responded that the patent (the only patent at issue was US5206244, priority date 10/18/1990), which claims the chemical structure of entecavir, was obvious. The district court found in …

PTAB Obviousness Finding Reversed in Institut Pasteur GIIE Endonuclease Patents

Contact the author: Andrew Berks Inst. Pasteur v. Focarino, No. 2012-1485 (Fed. Cir. 12/30/2013) Three patents were at issue, US6610545, US6833252, and US7309605, all based on an application originally filed 5/6/1992 and expired on 5/6/2012. The patents disclose group I intron encoded (GIIE) endonucleases. GIIE endonucleases are valuable research tools that are highly specific in selecting …

Obviousness in view of references considered in examination – Tokai Corp. v. Easton Enterprises, Inc.

Tokai owned three patents at issue, pertaining to lighters with an elongated rod, useful for lighting barbecue grills.  Easton makes competitive products. Tokai sued Easton for patent infringement. The diputed feature was a safety device requiring the user to depress a button while pulling the trigger.  Tokai Corp. v. Easton Enterprises, Inc., No. 2010-1057 (Fed. …