Evergreening of Patents
Q. What is evergreening of patents?
It is common for patent owners to make effort to extend the life of existing patents by filing new patents for substantially same or similar inventions, without any novelty or inventive step (non-obviousness).
Such strategies are commonly followed in pharmaceutical sector for drug patents and hence, patent offices rely on the determination of a new or a non-obvious synergy or a distinct effect. In use, such a novel and non-obvious synergy or the distinct effect has to be covered comprehensively by drafting a strong and focused set of patent claims, which can be further supported by way of accompanying detailed description of the invention including results of clinical (laboratory) and biology test results.
Therefore, while drafting patent applications covering drug patents and pharmaceutical inventions, pharma patent attorneys follow the best practice of writing patent specifications with the required detailed description of the inventions to satisfy the patent eligibility criteria.
Pharmaceutical patents are a legal document issued by the patent office to protect the identity of a specific invention. A patent, however, does not restrict the way the invention may be used or what it may be made of. As defined, pharmaceutical patents provide protection for new and useful inventions. This protects companies from competition from generic companies that may develop a generic version of the patented product. In addition, pharmaceutical patents offer protection for drugs that treat a specific disease. The patents can even cover chemical compositions that treat diseases under the correct medical supervision.
Pharmaceutical patents help these companies make money to support research and development. This allows them to develop more innovative medicines that meet the demands of patients suffering from different medical conditions, improving the quality of life of millions of people who depend on prescription drugs. Merck, one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies, was able to secure six patents last year alone for its vaccines. Out of these six patents, four of them were for vaccines related to Merck’s line of flu vaccines. Merck made huge profits last year. According to estimates, Merck made up to $7.2 billion dollars in sales through its vaccines alone.
Advocate Rahul Dev is a Patent Attorney & International Business Lawyer practicing Technology, Intellectual Property & Corporate Laws. He is reachable at rd (at) patentbusinesslawyer (dot) com & @rdpatentlawyer on Twitter
Quoted in and contributed to 50+ national & international publications (Bloomberg, FirstPost, SwissInfo, Outlook Money, Yahoo News, Times of India, Economic Times, Business Standard, Quartz, Global Legal Post, International Bar Association, LawAsia, BioSpectrum Asia, Digital News Asia, e27, Leaders Speak, Entrepreneur India, VCCircle, AutoTech)
Regularly invited to speak at international & national platforms (conferences, TV channels, seminars, corporate trainings, government workshops) on technology, patents, business strategy, legal developments, leadership & management
Working closely with patent attorneys along with international law firms with significant experience with lawyers in Asia Pacific providing services to clients in US and Europe. Flagship services include international patent and trademark filings, patent services in India and global patent consulting services.
Pharmaceutical Patent Attorney
Law office of Rahul Dev is a niche technology and research based law firm focusing on next generation business and legal issues faced in India and outside India during international business and cross-border technology transactions. We assist our clients in close collaboration with our associates and counsels within India and outside by providing custom engagement models to address our client’s needs.
Practice areas include drafting and filing pharmaceutical and drug patent applications, pharmaceutical and drug patent prior art searches, pharmaceutical and drug patent prosecution, pharmaceutical and drug patent filing in India, pharmaceutical and drug PCT national phase entry in India, pharmaceutical and drug PCT international applications with WIPO, freedom to operate searches for pharmaceutical products and drugs, patentability analysis of pharmaceuticals and drugs and patent strategy to create a valuable patent portfolio comprising of new pharmaceutical and drug.
Pharmaceutical Patent attorney Rahul Dev works with clients providing expert legal services in the field of innovative pharmaceutical products, branded drugs, generic drugs, molecular biology, immunology, cell biology, regenerative medicine including ESCs, iPSCs, pSCs, diagnostics, therapeutics, theranostics, drug delivery systems, host-vector systems, high throughput screening, bioinformatics, diagnostic imaging, ancillary services (PET, CT, MRI, ultrasound, greenlight, lithotripsy, radiation therapy, cyber-knife, nuclear camera, clinical lab, pathology, physical therapy and dispensing prescriptions).
Patent attorney and technology lawyer Rahul Dev works closely with USPTO licensed patent attorneys to assist clients with patent reexaminations, patent prosecution, drafting USPTO office action responses, patent infringement litigation, patent claim mapping and patent licensing. For international patent filings, we have an established network of global patent attorneys to provide reliable and cost effective services to our clients.
