Post-AstraZeneca: Has The Promise Doctrine Vanished From Patent Litigation? Likely, Yes

The Supreme Court of Canada abolished the Promise Doctrine over a year ago¹ and, as discussed in our blog, it marked an important course correction for Canadian courts in the assessment of utility of a patent under section 2 of the Patent Act. In the past ten years, several patents — notably in the biopharmaceutical industry — were invalidated solely based on the promise of the patent doctrine and long before these pharmaceutical patents were due to expire. Although the Supreme Court of Canada's AstraZeneca decision last year did not have an instant impact on the promise doctrine, we predict the doctrine will soon vanish from patent litigation. Here's why.

Canadian Case Law Developments