Canada's patent laws are a complete code giving consumers no
right to independent civil actions. This was the conclusion of the
British Columbia Court of Appeal in Low v Pfizer Canada Inc, a decision
which may impede indirect purchaser class actions for patent law
breaches that might have resulted from several recent Supreme Court
of Canada decisions addressing indirect purchaser class actions, discussed previously on this blog.
The Fight Against Pfizer
In Low v Pfizer, the British Columbia Court of Appeal
overturned the certification of a class action relating to Viagra.
In 2012, the Supreme Court of Canada determined that Pfizer's
patent for Viagra was invalid based on the failure of the company
to comply with patent disclosure requirements. Low, who was a
consumer of Viagra, alleged that Pfizer had unlawfully abused the
patent system and had thus prevented cheaper generic versions of
the drug from entering the market. Low argued that, as a result,
Pfizer had
