[Ip-health] IHT: GSK sues US patent office

[Judit Rius Sanjuan]

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/10/12/business/NA-FIN-US-GlaxoSmithKline-Patent-Suit.php

GlaxoSmithKline sues to block new patent rules it says will thwart
innovation

International Herald Tribune/ The Associated Press
Friday, October 12, 2007

WASHINGTON: British pharmaceutical maker GlaxoSmithKline PLC has sued to
block new patent rules that the company says will harm about 100 of its
pending applications for new products.

The rules were issued in August by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
and are scheduled to take effect Nov. 1. They are intended to streamline
the application process by limiting the number of times patent
applicants can change existing applications.

"These rules better focus examination and will bring closure to the
examination process more quickly, while ensuring quality," Jon Dudas,
director of the PTO, said in August.

But Nancy Perkarek, a spokeswoman for Glaxo, said the measures would
"stifle innovation because they would severely limit our ability to
fully claim our inventions."

Pharmaceutical companies frequently change the scope of the patents they
seek as research and testing uncovers additional applications for a
drug, John Desmarais, the comapny's attorney, said.

Brigid Quinn, a spokeswoman for the patent office, would not comment on
the suit, which was filed Oct. 9 in the U.S. District Court for the
Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria, Virginia.



--
Judit Rius Sanjuan
Attorney
judit.rius@keionline.org

Knowledge Ecology International (KEI)
www.keionline.org / www.cptech.org
1621 Connecticut Ave, NW, Suite 500 Washington, DC 20009 USA
Tel.: +1.202.332.2670, Ext 18  Fax: +1.202.332.2673