Brazil's INPI wins battle against extension of Pfizer's Lipitor patent

On August 27, 2010 the Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office (INPI) made public on its web site ( www.inpi.gov.br/noticias) the decision rendered by the 1st Specialized Section of the Federal Court of Appeal of the 2nd Region on which the INPI's arguments were taken into consideration and the patent extension for US drugs behemoth Pfizer's (NSYE; PFE) blockbuster cholesterol lowerer Lipitor (atorvastatin was reduced.

According to this, the Federal Court of Appeal affirmed unanimously (by five to nil) on August 26 that the patent validity for Lipitor ended back in 2009, 20 years after the first registration in the USA, not this year or in 2014, it was stated on the IP Tango blog site.

This matter refers to the pipeline system, which granted to applicants the possibility for patenting chemical substances, compositions and products, in particular for the chemical, pharmaceutical and food industry although they were already known. The protection was secured under Articles 230 and 231 of the Brazilian IP Law. To obtain such protection and circumvent the novelty requirement, the applicant had to show to the INPI that: the (i) patent subject matter had not been marketed in Brazil, whether by the holder of by any third party with his consent; (ii) that no serious efforts were made by third parties to exploit such substance or composition in Brazil until 1996; (iii) that the patent was granted in the territory where the first application was filed; and (iv) the patent application had to be filed by within one year, counting from the publication of the Intellectual Property Act in 1996.