There aren't many lawyers in Canada who practise in the area of biotechnology patents as it is a very complex area of law. But those who do say they expect many more court challenges to biotechnology patents in the next several years as competitors contest patents that have been granted for biologic drugs along with third parties seeking to cash in on the founding company's revenue.
Peter Wilcox works with many biotechnology companies and says he expects many more cases to head to the courts over patent challenges within the next five to 10 years. "There are so many patents in various stages of research when developing biotechnology patents that it makes it difficult for companies to know when they're treading on other people's intellectual property," he says. "As well, you have somebody who owns a patent on a microscope that was used to develop a new drug, that person is going to come forward with their hand to get a piece of the action."
Peter says that with each matter that goes to court, he has had to retain upwards of five academic experts to help explain the case to the judge. "These are often very complex," he says of the cases he has worked on for biotech clients, although he notes, "I think these cases have to make their way through the courts to see how things play out so we have a good reference of cases."