Amicus Briefs
When a court considers a case whose outcome may affect consumers or competition, the FTC may file a “friend of the court” brief to provide information that can help the court make its decision in a way that protects consumers or promotes competition. To find a specific FTC brief, use the filters on this page.
Displaying 81 - 100 of 143Pages
In re Tamoxifen Citrate Antitrust Litigation
An amicus brief in support of plaintiffs-appellants’ petition for panel rehearing and rehearing en banc. The case concerns a decision by a divided panel of the appeals court upholding the dismissal, pursuant to FRCP 12(b)(6), of an antitrust challenge to a Hatch-Waxman patent settlement between AstraZeneca, the manufacturer of a branded drug, and Barr Labs., an FDA applicant for a generic counterpart. The Commission argues that the panel did not properly consider the Hatch-Waxman Act, which encourages challenges to pharmaceutical patents to facilitate the early entry of generic drugs, and that, if not corrected, the panel decision would permit the holder of a challenged drug patent to harm competition, and thus consumers, substantially by impermissibly paying a would-be generic rival to stay off the market.
Texaco, Inc. v. Dagher
Illinois Tool Works, Inc. v. Independent Ink, Inc.
Texaco, Inc. v. Dagher
Volvo Trucks North America, Inc. v. Reeder-Simco GMC, Inc.
Empagran, S.A. v. Hoffmann-LaRoche, Ltd.
Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. v. Pfizer, Inc.
In this amicus brief in support of Teva’s combined petition for rehearing and rehearing en banc, the Commission argues that the court erred in affirming the district court’s dismissal of Teva’s complaint in this Hatch-Waxman Act case. The brief argues that the court applied the wrong test to assess jurisdiction under the Declaratory Judgment Act. The court only considered the likelihood that Teva would face a patent infringement suit, but failed to take account of the injury Teva will suffer. The brief argues that Teva will face injury even in the absence of a patent infringement suit because the FDA cannot approve Teva’s generic sertraline hydrochloride drug unless Teva can obtain a court decision regarding Pfizer’s patent.
Edward H. Phillips v. AWH Corporation
Amicus Brief of the United States and the Federal Trade Commission addressing the proper methodology for construing the claims of a patent. This brief was filed in response to an order of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit taking the case en banc and inviting the government to submit its views on the questions of the en banc order. The brief argues that in construing patent claims a court should primarily rely on a patent’s intrinsic evidence (its description of the invention and its prosecution history) rather than dictionaries and other external sources. This approach is more likely to result in claim constructions that are closer to those used by the Patent Office in issuing patents and that reflect the inventions as described and enabled.
Empagran, S.A. v. F. Hoffmann-LaRoche, Ltd.
Ashby v. Farmers Group, Inc
American Bankers Ass’n v. Lockyer
Spano v. SAFECO Insurance Co
Cleveland Bar Ass’n v. Compmanagement, Inc
Andrx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Kroger Co
Joint brief of the United States and the Federal Trade Commission, urging the Court to deny a writ of certiorari in this case, regarding private patent litigation and the legal standards applicable to “reverse payment” patent litigation settlements in the Hatch-Waxman context.
Jackson, Tennessee Hospital Co. v. West Tennessee Healthcare, Inc
Cole v. U.S. Capital, Inc. et al.
Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. v. Pfizer, Inc.
The Commission argues that the district court erred by dismissing Teva's complaint against Pfizer in this Hatch-Waxman Act case. Teva sought a declaratory judgment that its generic version of sertraline hydrochloride would not infringe a patent held by Pfizer (or that the patent was invalid). The brief argues that the court applied the wrong test to assess jurisdiction. It failed to take account of the fact that, unless Teva can obtain a court decision regarding Pfizer's patent, the FDA cannot give Teva approval to market its generic drug until 180 days after the first generic applicant (Ivax Pharmaceuticals) enters the market with its version. The brief also explains that the district court’s holding will leave subsequent generic applicants (such as Teva) powerless to prevent brand-name manufacturers and first generic applicants from greatly delaying other generic manufacturers from entering the market.
Allen and Sharon Schneider v. Citicorp Mortgage, Inc. and Citicorp
Amicus brief objecting to a proposed settlement that called for consumers to be compensated with coupons for $100 off their next new mortgage or refinancing within the next two years in a case involving allegations that Citicorp violated the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. The FTC argued it is extremely doubtful that the case satisfied the legal requirements for class certification, that the coupons were worth much less than their face value, and that the proposed counsel fee appears excessive in light of the likely low value of the settlement.