A New Jersey lawsuit has recently settled between Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Pharmaceuticals unit and Mylan Inc. The commercial litigation involved a patent for Ortho Tri-Cycle Lo — a form of oral birth control — that made $424.5 million last year. This suit had been ongoing in a federal court in Newark since November 2010. In the suit, Janssen claimed that Mylan — a company based in Pittsburgh — had infringed on its patent.
With this settlement, the case between Janssen and Mylan will be dismissed. However, the settlement agreement can be reviewed by Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice. Under the terms of the settlement, Mylan will still be able to sell certain formulations of the generic birth control pill. However, other terms of the settlement were not released to the public.
An intellectual property dispute such as this one can be difficult for any New Jersey business to deal with. The terms of the settlement can be complex and affect many areas of the company’s business. Patents, in particular, are important to vigorously protect since much of a business’s revenue may come from a patented product, machine or invention. If other companies are allowed to use this protected property, money will be lost.
If not handled properly, commercial litigation can unnecessarily cost a company revenue. However, with the right help, settlements can be reached so that all parties can come to an acceptable solution. By settling, companies can avoid years of costly litigation while still protecting their business’s intellectual property.
Source: Bloomberg Businessweek, “AstraZeneca, Mylan, Hachettte: Intellectual Property,” Victoria Slind-Flor, Nov. 9, 2012
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