Judge Andrews Grants in Part and Denies in Part Motion for Protective Order

August 30, 2017

Publication| Intellectual Property

In Forest Laboratories, LLC v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc., C.A. No. 16-1114-RGA (D. Del. Aug. 3, 2017), Judge Andrews denied without prejudice one defendant’s request to provide the plaintiffs’ highly confidential information to the defendant’s “Vice President and Head IPR.” Relying on the description of the Vice President’s job duties, the Court held that the Vice President was a competitive decision maker. Judge Andrews further noted that the Vice President was a businessman with an MBA, not an attorney. Although the Court denied the request, it was open to scheduling an evidentiary hearing to hear from the Vice President if requested by the defendant.

Key Point: Judge Andrews found that a vice president guiding the intellectual property rights activities in emerging business areas, and identifying and evaluating new product ideas from a business perspective, was a competitive decision maker.

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