Eli Lilly & Co. v. Government of Canada

Case No. UNCT/14/2 (2017)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
E
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Eli Lilly & Co. v. Government of Canada

International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes Ad Hoc Tribunal
Case No. UNCT/14/2 (2017)

MP

Facts

In 2011, the Canada Federal Court invalidated Eli Lilly & Co.’s (Lilly) (plaintiff) patents for two drugs known as Strattera and Zyprexa. The court cited a lack of utility, concluding that there was insufficient evidence to demonstrate that the drugs would do what their patent promised. In November of 2012, Lilly filed a claim against the government of Canada (defendant) under the investor-state dispute-settlement provision (ISDS) of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), contained in Chapter 11 of that agreement. Lilly offered two theories of liability: (1) that the court’s decision, by upending a well-settled rule of Canadian law, amounted to a violation of international law’s customary minimum standard of treatment under Article 1105(1), and (2) that the court’s decision constituted the nationalization or expropriation of an investment under Article 1110. Lilly also argued that Canada’s patent standard was inconsistent with NAFTA’s own standard, contained in Chapter 17. Canada argued that the ISDS did not apply to Chapter 17 intellectual-property obligations and also defended its patent standard on the merits. In 2017, the dispute was heard by an arbitration tribunal.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Per curiam)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 806,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 806,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 806,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Intellectual Property

Key Terms