Patently-O Bits and Bytes No. 85

BPAI Plummeting Reversal Rate. [LINK]
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Obama‘s original selection for Secretary of Commerce – Bill Richardson – will not pan out. Richardson has decided to withdraw his nomination. Although we rarely see the Secretary of Commerce directly shaping USPTO policy, the Office is still part of the Department of Commerce and the USPTO Director reports directly to the Secretary of Commerce. The greatest impact of the Secretary of Commerce may be on the selection of high-level PTO officials (including the Director).
The Patent Troll Tracker debacle made the ABA Journal’s list of the top ten legal stories of 2008. (The only IP related issue to make the list). [Link]
Patently-O Jobs:
- Microsoft (Redmond, WA) needs a patent portfolio manager (at least 5 years exp.) [LINK]
- Google (Mountain View, CA) needs an IP litigation counsel (at least 3 years exp.) [LINK]
- Amin Hallihan (Chicago) focuses on IP & FDA issues. The firm is looking one or more experienced patent attorneys to join their ranks. [LINK]
Phama Law: Pozen’s migraine drug (Treximet) is special because it combines two types of migraine treatments into one pill: naproxen sodium (Aleve) and sumatriptan (Imitrex). Alphapharm (Mylan) filed an abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) to begin marketing a generic version of the drug – arguing that the patent is invalid. On January 2, Pozen sued Alphapharm for infringement in the Eastern District of Texas. Claim 1 of the asserted patent reads as follows:
- 1. In a method for treating a migraine patient by administering a 5-HT agonist [Imitrex], the improvement which comprises: concomitantly administering to said patient a long-acting, non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drug (LA-NSAID) [Aleve] in an amount that, together with said 5-HT agonist, is effective to reduce migraine relapse or produce longer lasting efficacy compared to the administration of said 5-HT agonist in the absence of said LA-NSAID.