Broad claim scope invalidates formulation patent despite 'powerful arguments' to the contrary

A lack of narrow dependent claims, which focus on the technicaladvance of the invention, meant that the main claim was heldinvalid as being obvious.     

South Africa: highest court orders government to provide antiretrovirals to prevent mother-to-child transmission

On 5 July 2002, South African treatment activists won a significant victory when the Constitutional Court ordered the South African government to make the antiretroviral drug nevirapine available in public hospitals and clinics for the purposes of preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV. The Court also ruled the government has a constitutional obligation to implement a program to realize the right of pregnant women and their newborn children to access health services to prevent transmission.     

Applications for FDA approval to market a dew drug: patent submission and listing requirements and application of 30-month stays on approval of abbreviated new drug applications certifying that a patent claiming a drug is invalid or will not be infringed. Final rule

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is amending its patent submission and listing requirements for new drug applications (NDAs). The final rule clarifies the types of patents that must and must not be submitted and revises the declaration that NDA applicants must provide regarding their patents to help ensure that NDA applicants submit only appropriate patents. The final rule also revises the regulations regarding the effective date of approval for certain abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs) and certain other new drug applications, known as 505(b)(2) applications, submitted under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the act). In certain situations, Federal law bars FDA from making the approval of certain ANDA and 505(b)(2) applications effective for 30 months if the applicant has certified that the patent claiming a drug is invalid or will not be infringed, and the patent owner or NDA holder then brings suit for patent infringement. The final rule also states that there is only one opportunity for a 30-month stay in the approval date of each ANDA and 505(b)(2) application. The final rule will make the patent submission and listing process more efficient as well as enhance the ANDA and 505(b)(2) application approval processes.     

India: constitutional challenge to anti-sodomy law

On 7 December 2001, the Naz Foundation India Trust filed a petition with the Delhi High Court alleging that the prohibitions on sodomy in Indian law are unconstitutional.     

专利权质押贷款风险之化解——兼评相关地方新出台的专利权质押贷款管理办法

专利权质押贷款存在着专利权被宣告无效、专利权评估不准确、专利权实现、丧失专利权、被宣告破产等诸多风险。去年以来,我国一些地方政府出台的有关专利权质押贷款管理的相关规定,试图通过立法化解风险,但对借款人、专利权人所面临风险普遍关注不够,使得借款人和专利权人在现有专利权质押贷款制度下面临的风险增大。有必要通过“接管”借款企业、建立化解专利权质押贷款风险的风险补偿金制度以及重新确定政府在专利权质押贷款中的职责等措施,真正化解专利权质押贷款风险。     

US: immigration court allows Zambian woman's asylum claim based on HIV infection

On 9 February 2004, the federal Immigration Court ruled that a Zambian woman can stay in the US because her HIV-positive status gives her a well-founded fear of persecution in Zambia. The court found that she would face severe and lethal discrimination in the public health clinics and in the employment sector and that the Zambian government is unwilling or unable to control this persecution.     

Court dismisses constitutional challenge to ban on assisted suicide

On 6 February 2001, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismissed a constitutional challenge by Jim Wakeford, a Toronto man with HIV/AIDS and an advocate for access to medical marijuana, to the sections of the Criminal Code that outlaw assisted suicide in Canada.     

确权诉讼程序法律问题研究

在对确权诉讼程序之法理作出初探的基础上,根据审判实践,讨论了确权诉讼程序所涉及的五个法律问题:即确权诉讼的性质及审理范围;确权诉讼的管辖制度;《海诉法解释》第90条的理解与适用;确权诉讼适用《民诉法》引发的问题;海上保险人提起确权诉讼的特殊问题。     

Public visibility of building not enough to start statute of limitations on architectural copyright infringement claim

A cause of action for infringement of an architectural copyrightwas held not to accrue until some ‘triggering event’put the plaintiff on inquiry notice of his claim. The Courtof Appeals rejected the proposition that architects have a generalduty to review public records or visit public sites in orderto police their copyrights; thus, the mere fact that the structurein dispute was erected in plain view of the public was insufficientto commence the limitation period.