Bayer Schering Pharma AG v. Barr Laboratories, Inc. – New York Law School Law Review, Vol. 55, 2010.

  • May 31 2016
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  • Category: News

By Joshua Zarabi

I. INTRODUCTION

Among the many objectives of the American patent system is the promotion of innovation, which is accomplished by providing inventors with an incentive to invent.1 A patent provides this incentive by excluding anyone other than the patent holder from using the invention, among other things, for a limited period of time.2 A patent provides pharmaceutical companies with motivation to invest considerably in research and development.3 The grant of a patent, however, is subject to several statutory requirements, including that of “non-obviousness” under 35 U.S.C. § 103.4 The purpose of the non-obviousness requirement is to prevent the issuance of a patent for something that is merely an obvious improvement on or variation of something already known.5 Should inventor B receive a patent for making a metallic…