Was the invention of Plumpy’nut “non-obvious” ??
I keep meeting people in the intellectual property business who are surprised that Plumpy’nut received a patent in either the U.S. or European Union. Typically, they explain, patents are granted for inventions that are “non-obvious.” On the face of it, however, Plumpy’nut seems like glorified peanut butter. And it’s a rather obvious idea to give peanut butter to malnourished children.
But no one yet is willing to go “on the record” with such a pronouncement. So my search is still on for a recognized patent attorney or other expert who can take a look at Plumpy’nut story.
The other idea several folks have mentioned is finding out which countries do not have a patent on Plumpy’nut. (There’s apparently no such thing as an international patent. Patents are granted on a country-by-country basis.) It would be perfectly legal to make a peanut butter and dried milk concoction using the Plumpy’nut recipe in those countries where the patent does not exist.
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Dweep Chanana
November 8, 2007 @ 5:41 pm
Came here from your comment on my blog. Very interesting to see that the pharma battle over patents is now spilling over to other health related areas. I’ve posted a response, but thought it best to note one specific point related to non-obviousness.
You might want to look at two interesting legal cases that are related to this issue. The first is a US Supreme Court ruling that applies the criteria of “non-obviousness” more rigorously. The second is a failed challenge by Novartis in the Indian courts. While I am not familiar with the legalesse, I suspect they may be useful precedents.
Separately, yes - each country has its own patent regime.
Karen
November 22, 2007 @ 6:04 am
Other issues regarding Nutriset & their Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) branded as Plumpy’nut is on the WIPO site. I don’t hv the link with me at the moment but the IPR is on the innovation & usage of the product.
Stephanie Weber
January 11, 2008 @ 1:49 am
Christine, were you able to find information about Nutriset’s patent on Plumpy’nut? I searched the WIPO site but could not find anything about PN.
Christine Gorman
March 6, 2008 @ 5:49 pm
I’ve found the U.S. patent but have not located online versions from any other countries.
Here’s a tiny url for the patent http://tinyurl.com/34v2ye