Intellectual Property Law

Judge Leonard P. Stark: Claim Construction (Report & Recommendation)

By Karen E. Keller, Andrew A. Lundgren et al.

Magistrate Judge Stark construed the claim terms below in an ANDA patent infringement case related to the brand name Oracea® doxycycline capsules. The Resesarch Foundation of State University of New York v. Mylan Pharmaceuticals, L.P., C.A. No. 09-184-JJF-LPS, Report and Recommendation Regarding Claim Construction (D. Del. May 12, 2010). A main feature of the invention is that the patented drug compounds "achieve a therapeutic result through non-antimicrobial mechanisms." Id. at 2.

(1) "tetracycline compound"
Construction: compound within the class of which tetracycline is the parent compound
and is characterizied by a unique four-ring structure
(2) "antibiotic tetracycline compound"
Construction: a compound having antibiotic activity within the class of which tetracycline
is the parent compound and is characterized by a unique four-ring structure
(3) "the tetracycline compound has substantially no antibiotic activity"
Construction: the tetracycline compound has been modified chemically to reduce or
eliminate its antibacterial activity, or the tetracycline compound possesses
antibacterial activity but is employed in an amount which has substantially
no antibacterial effect
(4) "minimum antibiotic serum concentration"
Construction: the lowest concentration known to exert a signficant antibiotic effect
(5) "chronic inflammatory condition"
Construction: an inflammatory condition lasting for days to weeks or longer, and is
associated histologically with the presence of lymphocytes and
macrophages and with proliferation of blood vessels and connective tissues

The Resesarch Foundation of State University of New York v. Mylan Pharmaceuticals, L.P., C.A. No. 09-184-JJF-LPS, Report and Recommendation Regarding Claim Construction (D. Del. May 12, 2010).

Full post as published by Delaware IP Law Blog on May 19, 2010 (boomark / email).