Patent Law | Expert Legal Commentary

July 13, 2009

Abbott Labs v. Sandoz: Defining Infringement for Product-by-Process Claims

Abbott Labs v. Sandoz

By Yuri Mikulka and Spyros J. Lazaris

The Federal Circuit has resolved prior inconsistencies in its case law and established a bright line rule to define infringement in product-by-process claims, holding that such infringement requires practice of the claimed process by the alleged infringer. In Abbott Labs v. Sandoz, 566 F.3d 1282 (Fed. Cir. 2009), the Federal Circuit held that the process terms of a product-by-process claim serve as limitations in determining infringement, such that similar products made by a different process do not infringe on the patent.

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Companies Mentioned

Abbott Laboratories

Astellas Pharma, Inc.

Par Pharmaceutical

Par Pharmaceutical Companies, Inc.

Ranbaxy Laboratories, Ltd.

Ranbaxy, Inc.

Sandoz GMBH

Sandoz, Inc.

Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries, Ltd.

Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc.

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Kohl’s Department Stores, Inc.

K-Mart Corp.

J.C. Penney Company, Inc.

Audiovox Communications Corp.

Glamourmom LLC

McKesson Information Solutions, Inc.

Federated Department Stores

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Elizabeth Lange LLC d.b.a. Liz Lange Maternity

United States Patent and Trademark Office

Smithkline Beecham Corp. (d.b.a. GlaxoSmithKline, plc.)

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Mylan Pharmaceutical, Inc.

Ranbaxy, Inc.

Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc.

Mylan Laboratories, Inc.

Nokia, Inc.

Stryker Sales Corp.

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Acumed, LLC

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Sanyo North America Corp.

LG Electronics, Inc.

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Additional Resources

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