Novartis AG v. Ezra Ventures LLC (Fed. Cir. 2018) - Decided on December 7, 2018

This case concerns the interplay between patent term extension (PTE) granted pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 156 and the obviousness-type double patenting doctrine. The District Court concluded that, in accordance with that court’s holding in Merck & Co. v. Hi-Tech Pharmacal Co. (Fed. Cir. 2007), obviousness-type double patenting does not invalidate an otherwise validly obtained PTE under § 156. The Federal Circuit held that a PTE pursuant to § 156 is valid so long as the extended patent is otherwise valid without the extension.