Merck Multiple Sclerosis Patent Falls as Court Clarifies Rule

The Federal Circuit upheld a tribunal decision invalidating a Merck & Co. unit’s patent of a multiple sclerosis drug, reinforcing the court’s precedential interpretation of key language in the Patent Act.

Senior Judge Richard Linn’s precedential opinion clarified how courts interpret the phrases “by others” and “by another” in a version of the Patent Act defining what can be used to prove the obviousness of a patent filed before the 2011 America Invents Act..

Hopewell Pharma Ventures Inc. challenged the technology as obvious at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board in January 2023 after Merck sued it in Delaware seeking ...