Beijing Court Hears Pfizer's Patent Appeal on Viagra

May 9, 2005

The Beijing First Intermediate People's Court held its first hearing at the end of March on Pfizer Inc.'s appeal of the invalidation by the Patent Reexamination Board of the pharmaceutical company’s use patent for Viagra. (The Reexamination Board is part of the State Intellectual Property Office.) A coalition of Chinese pharmaceutical firms brought the request for reexamination to the Board, which invalidated Pfizer's patent because it concluded that the information that Pfizer submitted in the late 1990s in support of its original patent application did not comply with statutory requirements. Pfizer maintains that the Board's decision holds the original application to a legal standard that was not in force at the time of the original examination.

Chinese press coverage of the case during its initial days has focused on an allegation that Pfizer enjoys a dominant market position for sales of Viagra. This legal term is drawn from the draft version of the Chinese Anti-Monopoly Law. In fact, the case centers on a narrow legal issue unrelated to Pfizer's market position. Because a patent is a form of legally granted monopoly, Pfizer's position in the market might enjoy some protection. The concerns expressed in the Chinese press articles, however, reflect a concern observed in the drafting process for the Anti-Monopoly Law: the Chinese government continues to assert positions implying that the way foreign companies use intellectual property is improper, including in cases where those uses should enjoy legal protection.

For additional articles in Chinese on the subject, click here, here, here, and here.