Canada Court Mulls Meaning of ‘Inventive,’ Upholds Shire Patent

Canada’s Federal Court rejected allegations that Shire LLC’s patent for ADHD drug Vyvanse was invalid, but also dismissed Shire’s allegations that generic maker Apotex Inc. infringed the patent by making a large quantity of the generic product for research and regulatory uses.

The ruling confirms Canadian courts will continue to consider the “inventive concept” in deciding whether a patent is obvious, increasing the chances patents can survive such challenges, but also found foreign courts’ support for similar patents won’t influence cases in Canada, intellectual property lawyers told Bloomberg Law.

There is no basis for Apotex’s invalidity claims against Shire’s ...