On Tuesday, the Supreme Court of Canada will hear oral arguments in AstraZeneca Canada Inc., et al. v. Apotex Inc., et al. (Esomeprazole) relating to the ‘promise doctrine’ of patent utility.

The appeal is from 2015 FCA 158 (A-420-14;Esomeprazole), which is an appeal from 2014 FC 638 (T-1668-10). The Supreme Court of Canada proceeding is SCC #36654. The issues before the court includes the scope of the ‘promise doctrine’ in Canada, whether promise should be construed on a claim-by-claim basis, and the relationship between a patent’s promise and the inventive concept.

There is a sealing order so the hearing may not be webcast (if it is, it will be available through the SCC website). [Update – the video is available]

A number of organizations have intervened in the proceeding (see early post with copies of the intervenor materials), and the court has permitted Innovative Medicines Canada and BIOTECanada (jointly); the Centre for Intellectual Property Policy (CIPP) and the Fédération internationale des conseils en propriété intellectuelle (FICPI) to make oral arguments.

More information on other intellectual property proceedings at the Supreme Court are available on my Supreme Court litigation page.