Southern District of Ohio Judge Michael Watson dismissed an antitrust claim brought be direct purchasers of the drug Plavix against the patent holder and its generic competitor alleging that they anticompetitively kept generic Plavix from the market. The patent holder and generic competitor had reached a settlement agreement that was rejected by the FTC. The parties […]
Author Archives: Steve Semeraro
Drug Patent Reverse Payment Settlement Challenge Thrown Out
April 9, 2010 – 4:52 pm
Third Circuit Judge Joseph Greenaway, Jr., sitting by designation in the District of NJ granted summary judgment in favor of Schering-Plough in a case challenging a reverse payment settlement involving the drug K-Dur 20. The court held that since the settlements permit the introduction of competing drugs before the expiration of the patent, they could […]
Plywood Price Fixing Conspiracy Case to Proceed
March 22, 2010 – 11:19 am
Southern District of Mississippi Judge Louis Guirola, Jr., has refused to dismiss price fixing claims against major plywood producers Georgia-Pacific, Weyerhaeuser, and Louisiana Pacific with respect to purchases of (1) plywood made after November 2004 and (2) OSB. Claims based on earlier plywood purchases were deemed barred by the expiration of the statute of limitations. […]
Drug Retailers Allege Conspiracy to Block Generic Provigil
March 20, 2010 – 3:32 pm
Update March 2011: The court granted plaintiff Apotex’s motion for a declaratory judgment of non-infringement on one of the two patents-in-suit despite the defendant’s admisison of non-infringement. The court commented that a ruling on both patents-in-suit was required to trigger the 180 day exclusivity period under the Hatch-Waxman Act. Update Spring 2010: E.D. PA Judge […]
EC Inspects Wiring Harness Manufacturers
March 18, 2010 – 1:46 pm
On February 24, 2010, the European Commission conducted unannounced inspections at the premises of wiring harness companies for cars and other electrical distribution systems. The Commission is coordinating with other antitrust investigators.
Tax Preparation E-filing Agreement Exempt From Antitrust Scrutiny
March 18, 2010 – 1:21 pm
The Third Circuit held that an agreement among tax preparers, including Intuit, H&R Block Digital Tax Solutions, and the Free File Alliance with the IRS limiting the number of free e-filers to 50% of all taxpayers could not violate the antitrust laws because it constituted exempt petitioning of a government agency. The court rejected the plaintiffs’ claim that an […]
Fines Imposed in Ice Cartel Case
March 18, 2010 – 1:06 pm
Southern District of Ohio Judge Herman Weber has imposed $9 million dollar fines on Home City Ice Co. and Artic Glacier International for conspiring to fix the price for prepackaged ice in the Detroit area. The fines constitute a significant reduction from the sentencing guidelines in response to the parties cooperation with the investigation. Reddy […]
Optometrist’s Antitrust Counterclaims Dismissed in a Contact Lens Trademark Infringement Suit
March 14, 2010 – 2:35 pm
In Ciba Vision Corp. v. De Spirito, Northern District of Georgia Judge J. Owen Forrester has dismissed an optometrist’s antitrust and other counterclaims in a trademark infringement suit brought by eye care company Ciba Vision Corp., holding that the defendant failed to sufficiently allege that Ciba engaged in any type of conspiracy in violation of […]
Microsoft – Yahoo Partnership is Given an Unrestricted Green Light
March 14, 2010 – 1:57 pm
Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo Inc. have received the green light from U.S. and European antitrust officials to move forward with their search advertisement partnership, which is intended to take on search engine leader Google Inc., without imposing any restrictions. The 10-year partnership will allow Microsoft to power Yahoo’s search engine, while Yahoo will become the […]