Doctrine of equvalents
- 1. DOCTRINE OF EQUIVALENTS GITAM INSTITUTE OF PHARMACY Pharmaceutical Validation M. Pharmacy I-I SUBMITTED BY ~ LIKITHA BOGA PHARMACEUTICAL ANALYSIS
- 2. Definition: The doctrine of equivalent is a legal rule in most of the world’s patent systems that allow a court to hold a party liable for patent infringement even though the infringing device or process doesn’t fall within the literal scope of patent claim, but nevertheless is equivalent to the claimed invention.
- 3. ASTRAZENECA V. MAYNE Mayne (infringer) attempted to work around Astrazeneca’s anesthetic formulation patent. In attempting to formulate a generic composition having a different preservative, Mayne replaced EDTA by DPTA (Diethylenetriamine Penta Acetate or pentetic acid) which is structural derivative of EDTA. The district court, however, found that Mayne’s product infringed both direct and under the doctrine of equivalents.
- 4. On appeal, the court revised the direct infringement based on claimed construction, but agreed that there was infringement under DOE. DTPA was well within the scope of equivalents because DTPA performs in broadly the same way as EDTA, noting that the way in which both EDTA and DTPA perform as an antimicrobial agent is by sequestering metal ions to retard microbial growth. ASTRAZENECA Cont….
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