Abbott Laboratories v. Geneva Pharmaceuticals, Inc. case brief

Abbott Laboratories v. Geneva Pharmaceuticals, Inc. case brief summary
182 F.3d 1315 (1999)

CASE SYNOPSIS

Plaintiff corporation appealed from a decision of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois that granted summary judgment to the defendant corporations and held a claim of plaintiff's patent invalid under the on-sale provision of 35 U.S.C.S. § 102(b).

CASE FACTS
Plaintiff sued defendants for patent infringement after each of the defendants filed patent applications. Defendants sought approval to market a generic version of a pharmaceutical compound marketed by the plaintiff. The defendants each raised the "on-sale" affirmative defense of 35 U.S.C.S. § 102(b), asserting that the generic version was anticipated because it was sold in the United States more than one year before the patent's filing date.

DISCUSSION

• The appellate court held that the on-sale bar applied because the generic version was the subject matter of commercial sales in the United States. 
• The court found that the generic version was also ready for patenting because at least two manufacturers had reduced the generic to practice. 
• Since the generic was in the public domain, the court found that plaintiff's patent was invalid under federal law. 
• Therefore, the appellate court affirmed the lower court's grant of summary judgment to the defendants.

CONCLUSION

The lower court's grant of summary judgment for the defendants was proper because plaintiff's patent was invalid under federal law.

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