Viagra Patent Decision
Just a few days before her decision in the Titanic artifacts case, Judge Smith upheld the validity of Pfizer Inc.'s patent for the erectile dysfunction pill Viagra. The decision blocked Israeli firm Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., a manufacturer of generic drugs, from marketing a generic version until 2019. Teva had argued that the Pfizer patent was invalid and unenforceable. Among reasons for her decision, Judge Smith found there was no convincing evidence to support Teva’s claim that that Pfizer intentionally withheld documents from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Read more about this topic: Rebecca Beach Smith
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