Teva Pharmaceutical, who challenged Pfizer over their Viagra patent, got spanked yet again, and is now on the hook for nearly $400,000 in legal fees to be paid out to Pfizer. In Teva's original claim against the larger drug maker, partway through the case they tried to introduce the accusation that Pfizer engaged in "inequitable conduct" - pulling the wool over the US Patent Office's eyes - in order to get the Viagra patent approved. It was a hail mary pass that didn't go over well with the judge.
After the US District Court ruled against Teva, Pfizer went after them with a bid to collect legal fees on the basis that Teva's claims were baseless. Teva, having come so far in taking on a pharmaceutical giant, didn't back down, and instead upped the ante. They countered that, not only were their claims not baseless, but Pfizer's actions constituted "egregious misconduct".
The Court, however, did not buy it, and instead ruled that Teva was trying to take advantage of a loophole in another recent drug patent decision (Therasense v. Becton Dickinson), a ruling that was, ironically, intended to prevent frivolous claims.
You would think at this point Teva would cry uncle. But no, they're going back for more, and have not only filed an appeal of the decision squashing their original case, but also plan to appeal the award of legal fees to Pfizer. Maybe they feel they have nothing to lose, but it kind of reminds me of that definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.
