Patents: Effect of American Inventor’s Protection Act on Inventions in Biotechnology

by S Z | Sep 15, 2019

On November 29, 2000, the American Inventor’s Protection Act (AIPA) became law. While the Act contains many diverse provisions, two of the most significant provisions for companies working in the biotechnology area are publication of U.S. patent applications and...

Copyright: Potential Extended Copyright Term for Certain Unpublished Works

by S Z | Sep 15, 2019

The term of U.S. copyright protection for any given work is sometimes difficult to determine due to the many changes in our copyright law over the past twenty-five years. Generally, for a work that was created but neither “published” nor the copyright...

The CREATE Act: Protecting Patentable Inventions that Arise from Collaborative Research

by Wiggin and Dana LLP | Sep 15, 2019

The Cooperative Research and Technology Enhancement (“CREATE”) Act of 2004 was signed into law by President Bush on December 10, 2004. The Act amends 35 U.S.C. §103(c) of the U.S. Patent Laws to provide a safe harbor where research is carried out...

Merck KGaA v. Integra Lifesciences

by Wiggin and Dana LLP | Sep 15, 2019

In a significant decision sure to have a major impact on the pharmaceutical industry, the United States Supreme Court today held that the “safe harbor provision” of 35 U.S.C. §271(e)(1), which exempts from infringement, among other things, the making...

SEC to Publicly Release Comment Letters and Responses

by Wiggin and Dana LLP | Sep 15, 2019

In a recent press release, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced plans to begin publicly releasing comment letters and filer responses relating to disclosure filings reviewed by its Divisions of Corporation Finance and Investment...