Intellecual Property: Pharmaceuticals - Recent Developments

Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc. v. Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories, Ltd. (Federal Circuit, January 19, 2007)

Trial Court Correctly Set Range of Weight Ratios When Ambiguous Term ‘About’ Was Used

Plaintiff claimed infringement of patent for chemical composition of tramadol and acetaminophen. Defendant’s weight ratio between these two substances was at least 1:7.5, but plaintiff’s claim limitation was a weight ratio of “about 1:5,” which the trial court held encompassed a range of ratios between 1:3.6 and 1:7.1. The Federal Circuit upheld the trial court’s grant of summary judgment against the claim of infringement – both literal and by equivalents -- finding that the lower court correctly gauged the range of weight ratios in the term “about 1:5.” The Federal Circuit refused to extend the range any higher than 1:7.1 under the Doctrine of Equivalents. Click here for full version.