Apotex Inc. v Pfizer Inc., 2017 FCA 201

Alpha Marathon Technologies Inc. v Dual Spiral Systems Inc., 2017 FC 1119

Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. v Attorney General of Canada, 2017 FCA 241

The Counterfeiting and Trade Offences Committee of the CBA’s Intellectual Property Section focuses on areas of concern in relation to counterfeiting, trade offences and the Competition Act, as these issues impact on intellectual property law.

Apotex had sought and received an NOC from Health Canada in respect of Apo-Omeprazole, an anti-ulcer magnesium tablet. Health Canada later revoked the initial NOC approval because the abbreviated new drug submission lacked a study showing bioequivalence to the Canadian Reference Product when the drug was taken with a high calorie/high fat meal.

In a contested motion, Apotex Inc. sought leave to amend its statement of claim. Apotex had brought an action against Shire LLC for a declaration of non-infringement and invalidity of a Canadian patent. Portions of its claim were premised on the alleged failure of the inventors to have demonstrated or soundly predicted the promises set in the patent.

In this decision, the court found the plaintiff’s trade-mark registration in respect of two images of a stork holding a baby above its head, with banners announcing either “It’s a Girl” or “It’s a Boy” to be valid and infringed by the defendant.

This was a motion for a protective order in a patent infringement action. The parties negotiated a proposed order and the plaintiff informally brought a motion with the consent of the other parties. The proposed order did not include sealing provisions. Tabib J. dismissed the motion.

Diageo Canada Inc. v Heaven Hill Distilleries, Inc., 2017 FC 738

Dow was successful in a patent infringement dispute against Nova, and was then successful in the reference to determine Nova’s liability. This decision dealt with the costs arising from the reference.