15th June 2005
COLOMBIA CANCELS PATENTS ON 250 PRODUCTS OF MULTINATIONALS
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On 8 June, the Colombian Regulatory Authority for Industry and Commerce (SIC) declared that patents on 250 primarily chemical, cosmetic and pharmaceutical products in Colombia will be cancelled. The patents — officially due to expire in 2014 — were cancelled because the companies had failed to pay the annual administrative fee necessary to maintain their monopoly rights. It remained unclear why the companies had failed to do so, but observers speculated that given the small amount owed, the companies or their legal advisors probably simply forgot to submit it.
The patents were held by Procter & Gamble, Roche, Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, Sandoz, Eli Lilly, Merck, Ciba Geigy, Phillips Petroleum, Dow Chemical, Rhone-Poulenc, Riverwood and Nestlé, among others. They are unlikely to be able to revoke the government’s decision.
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