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This excerpt taken from the PFE 10-K filed Feb 27, 2009. Patents and Intellectual Property Rights Our products are sold around the world under brand-name, logo and certain product design trademarks that we consider in the aggregate to be of material importance. Trademark protection continues in some countries for as long as the mark is used and, in other countries, for as long as it is registered. Registrations generally are for fixed, but renewable, terms. We own or license a number of U.S. and foreign patents. These patents cover pharmaceutical and other products and their uses, pharmaceutical formulations, product manufacturing processes and intermediate chemical compounds used in manufacturing. Patents for individual products extend for varying periods according to the date of patent filing or grant and the legal term of patents in the various countries where patent protection is obtained. The actual protection afforded by a patent, which can vary from country to country, depends upon the type of patent, the scope of its coverage and the availability of legal remedies in the country. In the aggregate, our patent and related rights are of material importance to our businesses in the U.S. and most other countries. Based on current product sales, and considering the vigorous competition with products sold by others, the patent rights we consider most significant in relation to our business as a whole, together with the year in which the U.S. basic product patent expires (including, where applicable, the additional six-month pediatric exclusivity period), are those for the drugs set forth in the table below.
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Table of ContentsThese excerpts taken from the PFE 10-K filed Feb 29, 2008. Patents and Intellectual Property Rights Our products are sold around the world under brand-name, logo and certain product design trademarks that we consider in the aggregate to be of material importance. Trademark protection continues in some countries for as long as the mark is used and, in other countries, for as long as it is registered. Registrations generally are for fixed, but renewable, terms. We own or license a number of U.S. and foreign patents. These patents cover pharmaceutical and other products and their uses, pharmaceutical formulations, product manufacturing processes and intermediate chemical compounds used in manufacturing. Patents for individual products extend for varying periods according to the date of patent filing or grant and the legal term of patents in the various countries where patent protection is obtained. The actual protection afforded by a patent, which can vary from country to country, depends upon the type of patent, the scope of its coverage and the availability of legal remedies in the country. In the aggregate, our patent and related rights are of material importance to our businesses in the U.S. and most other countries. Based on current product sales, and considering the vigorous competition with products sold by others, the patent rights we consider most significant in relation to our business as a whole, together with the year in which the U.S. basic product patent expires (including, where applicable, the additional six-month pediatric exclusivity period), are those for the drugs set forth in the table below. The table also includes patent expiration information relating to certain recently approved drugs.
In some instances, there are later-expiring patents relating to our products directed to particular forms or compositions of the drug or to methods of manufacturing or using the drug in the treatment of particular diseases or conditions. However, in some cases, such patents may not protect the Company’s drug from generic competition after the expiration of the basic patent. The U.S. basic patents expired for Zyrtec/Zyrtec D and Norvasc in 2007 and for Camptosar in February 2008. Aricept is patented by Eisai Co., Ltd. We co-promote Aricept with Eisai in the U.S. and several other countries and have an exclusive license to sell the drug in certain other countries. In addition to our U.S. basic product patent for Lipitor, which (including the pediatric exclusivity period) expires in March 2010, we have a patent covering specifically the enantiomeric form of the drug, which (including the pediatric exclusivity period) expires in June 2011. See Note 20 to our consolidated financial statements, Legal Proceedings and Contingencies, in our 2007 Financial Report regarding pending legal challenges to our Lipitor patents in the U.S. and Canada. We market Genotropin in the U.S. under a non-exclusive license from Novo-Nordisk. Companies have filed applications with the FDA seeking approval of products that we believe infringe our patents covering, among other products, Lipitor, Celebrex, Detrol/Detrol LA and Caduet. In addition, a company has filed an application with the FDA seeking approval to market a generic version of Aricept, which is patented by Eisai Co., Ltd. 7 We also have other patent rights covering additional products that have lesser revenues than most of the products set forth in the table above. The expiration of a basic product patent or loss of patent protection resulting from a legal challenge normally results in significant competition from generic products against the originally patented product and can result in a significant reduction in sales of that product in a very short period. In some cases, however, we can continue to obtain commercial benefits from product manufacturing trade secrets; patents on uses for products; patents on processes and intermediates for the economical manufacture of the active ingredients; patents for special formulations of the product or delivery mechanisms; and conversion of the active ingredient to over-the-counter products. One of the main limitations on our operations in some countries outside the U.S. is the lack of effective intellectual property protection for our products. Under international agreements in recent years, global protection of intellectual property rights is improving. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade requires participant countries to amend their intellectual property laws to provide patent protection for pharmaceutical products by the end of a ten-year transition period. A number of countries are doing this. We have experienced significant growth in our businesses in some of those nations, and our continued business expansion in those countries depends to a large degree on further patent protection improvement. Patents and Intellectual Property Rights
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This excerpt taken from the PFE 10-K filed Mar 1, 2007. Patents and Intellectual Property Rights Our products are sold around the world under brand-name, logo and certain product design trademarks that we consider in the aggregate to be of material importance. Trademark protection continues in some countries for as long as the mark is used and, in other countries, for as long as it is registered. Registrations generally are for fixed, but renewable, terms. We own or license a number of U.S. and foreign patents. These patents cover pharmaceutical and other products and their uses, pharmaceutical formulations, product manufacturing processes and intermediate chemical compounds used in manufacturing. Patents for individual products extend for varying periods according to the date of patent filing or grant and the legal term of patents in the various countries where patent protection is obtained. The actual protection afforded by a patent, which can vary from country to country, depends upon the type of patent, the scope of its coverage and the availability of legal remedies in the country. In the aggregate, our patent and related rights are of material importance to our businesses in the U.S. and most other countries. Based on current product sales, and considering the vigorous competition with products sold by others, the patent rights we consider significant in relation to our business as a whole, together with the year in which the U.S. basic product patent expires (including, where applicable, the additional six-month pediatric exclusivity period), are those for the drugs set forth in the table below. The table also includes patent expiration information relating to certain recently approved drugs.
In some instances, there are later-expiring patents relating to our products directed to particular forms or compositions of the drug or to methods of manufacturing or using the drug in the treatment of particular diseases or conditions. However, in some cases, such patents may not protect the Company’s drug from generic competition after the expiration of the basic patent. The U.S. basic product patent for Zoloft expired in June 2006 and for Zithromax in November 2005. Zyrtec is patented by the Belgian company UCB S.A. and is licensed to us for sales in the U.S. We co-promote Zyrtec as a prescription medicine in the U.S. with a subsidiary of UCB S.A. The U.S. basic patent for Zyrtec expires in December 2007. Aricept is patented by Eisai Co., Ltd. We co-promote Aricept with Eisai in the U.S. and several other countries and have an exclusive license to sell the drug in certain other countries. 7 In addition to our U.S. basic product patent for Lipitor, which (including the pediatric exclusivity period) expires in March 2010, we have a patent covering specifically the enantiomeric form of the drug, which (including the pediatric exclusivity period) expires in June 2011. See Note 19 to our consolidated financial statements, Legal Proceedings and Contingencies, in our 2006 Financial Report regarding a pending legal challenge to our Lipitor patents in the U.S. We market Genotropin in the U.S. under a non-exclusive license from Novo-Nordisk. Companies have filed applications with the FDA seeking approval of products that we believe infringe our patents covering, among other products, Lipitor, Norvasc, Celebrex and Detrol. We also have other patent rights covering additional products that have lesser revenues. The expiration of a basic product patent or loss of patent protection resulting from a legal challenge normally results in significant competition from generic products against the originally patented product and can result in a significant reduction in sales of that product in a very short period. In some cases, however, we can continue to obtain commercial benefits from product manufacturing trade secrets; patents on uses for products; patents on processes and intermediates for the economical manufacture of the active ingredients; patents for special formulations of the product or delivery mechanisms; and conversion of the active ingredient to over-the-counter products. One of the main limitations on our operations in some countries outside the U.S. is the lack of effective intellectual property protection for our products. Under international agreements in recent years, global protection of intellectual property rights is improving. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade requires participant countries to amend their intellectual property laws to provide patent protection for pharmaceutical products by the end of a ten-year transition period. A number of countries are doing this. We have experienced significant growth in our businesses in some of those nations, and our continued business expansion in those countries depends to a large degree on further patent protection improvement. | EXCERPTS ON THIS PAGE:
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