LJN Newsletters

One author's strong views about Wyeth v. Levine.

In last month's newsletter the authors looked at California's 25-year-old medical malpractice award damage cap legislation ' the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA) ' and began to explore arguments for and against its constitutionality. Herein, they continue that discussion.

The decisive March 4 U.S. Supreme Court ruling against Wyeth in a landmark pharmaceutical product liability case may also close off a major front in a hard-fought battle by businesses and the Bush administration to insulate national corporations from state tort litigation.

The failure to manage a patient's airway can lead to lack of oxygenation and ventilation, and to resulting brain injury or death. Such failures can easily culminate in large awards. An expert explains.

It is a staple in virtually every patent case for defendants to assert defenses of non-infringement, invalidity, and inequitable conduct. While patent litigators appropriately focus on these traditional defenses, there are also nontraditional defenses — including lack of ownership of the patent-in-suit, judicial estoppel, and unclean hands — that may be incredibly beneficial to patent defendants.

By intelligently abandoning non-essential patents and trademarks and increasing revenue from IP sales, businesses can strengthen their balance sheets and increase competitiveness.

This article considers the unique aspects of clean technology and renewable energy against the backdrop of a rapidly changing patent law landscape. In particular, the article considers recent U.S. Supreme Court patent cases and how they may impact business decisions, development deals, and other transactional aspects of interest to those in the cleantech and renewable energy industry.

Highlights of the latest intellectual property news from around the country.