May 2013 On May 1, 2013, in Allergan, Inc. v. Sandoz Inc., Nos. 11-1619, -1620, -1635, -1639 (Fed. Cir. May 1, 2013), the Federal Circuit affirmed-in-part and reversed-in-part the district court’s finding that Allergan, Inc.’s patent claims for its Combigan® product were not obvious. The Court first held that the district court erred in finding the claims of U.S. Patent No. 7,323,463 not obvious, reasoning that there was a motivation to combine and a reasonable expectation of success that was not overcome by secondary considerations of nonobviousness. The Court held, however, that the district court did not err in finding claim 4 of U.S. Patent No. 7,030,149 obvious, reasoning that the defendants failed to prove obviousness by clear and convincing evidence.
See next month’s Last Month at the Federal Circuit for a full summary.
Looking Ahead
