Archives for February 2011
[The Edge Malaysia] Dip in IPR Filings – Start of a trend or an aberration?
Tough Times Ahead For The Pharmaceutical Industry?
Things have been going very well for the pharmaceutical industry over the past decade or so. A series of “blockbuster” drugs has been bankrolling the industry players fortunate enough to own the rights to those drugs and at the same time financing their search for the “Next Big Drug”. Global spending on pharmaceutical drugs exceeded a record US$643 billion in 2006. In the US, the pharmaceutical industry has been the most profitable industry for many years running. Nascent pharmaceutical industries in countries such as China, South Korea, Mexico and Russia have been virtually guaranteed double digit annual growths.
However, all that may soon come to an end. The years 2011 and 2012 will usher in the patent expiries of a record number of blockbuster drugs. Pfizer’s cholesterol busting drug Lipitor, which has been their best seller with sales of US$12.4 billion in 2008 (making it the top-selling branded pharmaceutical drug in the world at that time) is due for patent expiration in the US in June 2011. Via a licensing arrangement with Indian generic drug company Ranbaxy, Pfizer has delayed this deadline a further five months. This means that a generic version of Lipitor will be available sometime in late 2011.
“5-Star EHS” Fails to be Registered in Singapore
A trademark applicant in Singapore sought to register the mark “5-STAR EHS” under Classes 42 and 45 but was turned down by the IP Office of Singapore (IPOS) on grounds that the mark lacked distinctiveness and was rather descriptive of the applicant’s services, in a decision dated 4 October 2010. The applicant was in the business of providing advice and research on matters concerning the environment, health and safety of buildings.
IPOS found that the phrase “5-STAR” was synonymous with quality and that the letters “EHS” was a common abbreviation used for “environment, health and safety” in the applicant’s trade.
[Radio Television Brunei] UBD’S Seminar On Patent System
KASS’ very own Ramakrishna Damodharan is interviewed on why it is crucial to understand the workings of the patent system.
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[The Brunei Times] Manpower Lack May Snag Set-Up Of Patent Office
A look at why Brunei has yet to set up a Patent Office, despite having long offered valid and enforceable protection for patents granted in Singapore, Malaysia and the UK that are re-registered in Brunei within a certain period.
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