PHARMA EXECS TO SPEAK AT FTC's MEETINGS ON PATENT REFORM

Pharmaceutical executives are among the featured speakers at a series of upcoming town hall meetings on proposals to reform the U.S. patent system, including legislation that would allow firms to challenge the validity of patents at their issuance rather than in the courts.

The three meetings, which will take place in February and March, will be co-sponsored by the FTC, the National Academies' Board on Science, Technology and Economic Policy, and the American Intellectual Property Law Association.

"In the last two years, a series of developments have significantly advanced patent reform proposals," according to the FTC. These developments include an October 2003 FTC report on the proper balance of competition and patent law and policy, and an April 2004 National Academies report that noted the pharmaceutical industry is facing rapidly rising costs for obtaining patents, arranging licenses and challenging alleged cases of patent infringement in court.

The National Academies report called for legislation to give third parties the ability to challenge the validity of new patents before administrative law judges at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

For more information, go to http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2004/12/patenttownhallmeetings.htm (http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2004/12/patenttownhallmeetings.htm).