By Brent Kendall
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to consider a Teva
Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. appeal of a ruling that invalidated
a company patent on its blockbuster multiple-sclerosis drug
Copaxone.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the nation's
specialized patent appeals court, ruled the patent invalid last
year. Teva, seeking to fend off generic competition for the drug,
asked the Supreme Court to review that ruling. The patent at issue
expires in September 2015.
The justices took the case to decide whether the Federal Circuit
must be more deferential to the findings of fact made by federal
trial judges who preside over patent infringement litigation.
The case, Teva Pharmaceuticals USA v. Sandoz Inc., will be
argued during the court's next term, which begins in October.
Write to Brent Kendall at brent.kendall@wsj.com
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