Must All Patents Last for 20 Years?

Patent controversies continue to roil the business world. In March, a federal judge slashed by nearly half the $1.05 billion in damages awarded Apple last year in its patent-infringement suit against Samsung. On April 1, India's Supreme Court denied Novartis AG's request, after a seven-year legal battle, to gain patent protection for an updated version of its blockbuster leukemia drug Gleevac. And on April 15, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, challenging Myriad's claim to patent a naturally occurring gene.

-Article by Reuven Brenner

Read full article (subscription required): The Wall Street Journal, April 23, 2013