Arbutus’ patent dispute with Moderna is nearing trial. In anticipation of that, the parties have exchanged cross-motions for summary judgment seeking to limit the issues to be heard at trial. This blog post will address Moderna’s most important summary judgment argument, namely, the lion’s share of its potential liability should be shifted to the Government under § 1498. (Future posts will address the parties’ other summary judgment arguments.). I previously blogged about Moderna’s § 1498 defense shortly after this case began.
Read MoreI’ve blogged several times about the ongoing patent dispute between Arbutus and Moderna. The case is nearing the end of expert discovery and is headed for trial towards the end of 2025. A recent discovery dispute between the parties highlighted an important issue to watch as the case nears trial. The dispute concerns Arbutus’ testing of Moderna’s vaccine—Moderna claims that the parameters used to setup the testing may have been faulty. Does Arbutus have a testing problem, or Moderna grasping for straws in the face of troubling test results?
Read MoreAs I previously blogged here and here, Moderna has been tagged with two patent-infringement lawsuits directed to its LNP technology for delivering its mRNA vaccine for Covid. Moderna has now lodged its first defense two each suit—and in each case, it’s the same. Moderna claims that both plaintiffs, including Arbutus/Genevant and Alnylam, have each sued the wrong party. Moderna contracted with the U.S. Government to provide the vaccine, and pursuant to that contract, Moderna claims that the Government agreed to bear the brunt of any residual patent liability. Will the Government have to pick up the tab for Moderna’s patent infringement?
Read MoreOn March 7, Moderna updated its patent-pledge with respect to enforcement of its IP rights for its Covid vaccine. In short, Moderna pledged that it will never enforce its patents against Covid vaccines manufactured within certain middle and low-income countries, but may enforce them against vaccines in other countries, such as the US. What are the take-aways from the pledge?
Read MoreArbutus has finally sued Moderna for allegedly infringing its LNP patents. I previously blogged about the Arbutus/Moderna patent dispute here, here and here. Arbutus has already defended the validity of two of its patents, which puts it case on strong footing. But Moderna may nevertheless have a targeted non-infringement defense that could neutralize Arbutus’ claim to any royalties on Moderna’s Covid vaccine.
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