IP and Law

Viagra patent regains official protection in China

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Pfizer feeling tumescent?

In July 2004, the China State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) declared the patent for Viagra invalid in China because it did not conform with an article China's Patent Law which states that a patent application must include a description of the drug "in a manner sufficiently clear and complete so as to enable a person skilled in the relevant field" to understand the drug.

The decision by SIPO overturned the Chinese patent for Viagra's active ingredient sildenafil that was issued to Pfizer in September 2001.

In September 2004, Pfizer filed an appeal against the ruling. The case went to court in April of 2005.

On Friday afternoon, Pfizer won the case, regaining their patent rights. Forbes.com reports:

In what is seen as a landmark ruling in support of greater intellectual property rights protection for foreign companies in China, a Beijing court has backed U.S. drug company Pfizer's patents for its anti-male impotence drug, Viagra...

...Pfizer said it welcomes the court's decision, which reflects China's commitment to creating an effective patent-protection environment and boosts the confidence of the business community in China as an investment location.

...It is uncertain how effective enforcement of the latest court ruling will be, or whether it will have any effect in removing the widely available Viagra knock-offs from the market. Pfizer's global sales of Viagra were worth $1.6 billion in 2005.

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There are currently 1 Comments for Viagra patent regains official protection in China.

Comments on Viagra patent regains official protection in China

ViaGoogle, anyone? (Wei Gu Ge?)
Could Viagra possibly come out with a product that would keep Google and Gmail UP all the time?

Danwei's Google Adsense is off and on, by the way, today. Which made me sad. I miss Adsense when it's not there. It's like a special little friend that you take for granted until, one day, suddenly, without warning, it's gone. (Ditto with my Gmail and Google searches. Yesterday, my Google search returned a big fat blank screen. But the status bar said "done." I nearly wanted to cry. Whadya mean, "Done?" Was it my fault? Did I do something wrong? I was merely searching for some info on Eritrean Famine Relief. Google tells me "Done." What does that mean? Has Google sorted out Eritrea? Is my status bar telling, "Look, dude, it's all taken care of. Nothing to see here. Move along!"?

Anyhow, if the good folks at Pfizer can come up with something like Wei Gu Ge or ViaGoogle, that would be really cool.

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