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property law.
PATENTS
Warner-Lambert v Teva and others, 22 July 2011, High
Court
Mr Justice Floyd has granted an application for an
expedited trial in favour of Teva, in circumstances in which, if
Teva succeeds in invalidating Warner-Lambert's patent, Teva may
obtain an advantage over other generic manufacturers of the drug
atorvastatin, marketed by Warner-Lambert as Lipitor, one of the
world's most successful drugs with an annual turnover exceeding
£350 million. However, Teva has had to accept as a condition
of the order that there would be no disclosure.
Teva launched generic atorvastatin, without notice to
Warner-Lambert, on 20 June 2011. They launched in this
manner, rather than seeking the revocation of Warner-Lambert's
patent in advance, in order to obtain an advantage over other
generic companies. The judge accepted that during the period
of so-called duopoly, in which the patented product
