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IP NEWS FLASH |
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IP
High Court Dismisses Packaging Lawsuits Against Japanese Generic
Drug Manufacturers |
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Eisai Co., one of Japan's largest
pharmaceutical companies, announced on September 27, 2006, that the
Intellectual Property High Court had dismissed three out of the 12
lawsuits the company had filed against generic drug manufacturers
regarding the sales of the generic versions of their anti-ulcer drug,
Selbex. Eisai had brought the suits based on the Japanese Unfair
Competition Prevention Law, claiming that the generic manufacturers used
a press-through-packaging design (PTP design) similar to theirs,
and that the capsule's color and shape were similar to brand-name drug
as well.
The High Court dismissed the claims
against the three generic drug manufacturers, Towa Pharmaceutical,
Taisho Pharmaceutical Industries, and Sawai Pharmaceutical Co.,
because it found that the external appearance of the PTP sheet and the
Selbex capsules was not unique enough to provide legal protection.
Selbex is one of the most prescribed
gastrointestinal drugs in Japan. At this point, the High Court did not
make any judgment regarding the other nine generic drug companies that
Eisai had originally sued at the Tokyo District Court level. |
