Eli Lilly and Company v Canada - ICSID Case No. UNCT/14/2 - Final Award - 16 March 2017
Country
Year
2017
Summary
Reproduced from www.worldbank.org/icsid with permission of ICSID. (Document, does not apply to summary and/or TDM IACL Case Report below).
Case report (free download)
Case Report by Marina Kofman, Editor Diego Luis Alonso Massa
Summary
Claimant asserted claims against Respondent after the invalidation of two of its Canadian patents on the ground that they did not meet the requirement under Canadian patent law that the invention be "useful". Claimant argued that the basis for the Canadian Courts' decisions was their adoption in the mid-2000s of the "promise utility doctrine", which Claimant considered to be radically new, arbitrary and discriminatory against pharmaceutical companies and products. Claimant argued that the retroactive application of the doctrine to Claimant's patents resulted in the unlawful expropriation of Claimant's investments under NAFTA Article 1110 and a breach of Respondent's obligation to provide the minimum standard of treatment under NAFTA Article 1105. The tribunal dismissed the claims.
Main issues
NAFTA Article 1110 - NAFTA Article 1105 - minimum standard of treatment - arbitrary and discriminatory conduct - judicial measures as expropriation - whether limited to denial of justice
Case report provided by International Arbitration Case Law (IACL)