Weinberger, Wagner, and Rossettie Have Lead Article in New York Law Journal Intellectual Property Supplement

Kramer Levin partners Harold Weinberger and Jonathan Wagner, with assistance from associate Michelle Rossettie, published the lead article in the Intellectual Property Supplement of the July 24, 2000 edition of the New York Law Journal. The article is entitled "Prescription Drug Wars: Proving Claims of Competitor's Reps Are False."

Their article highlights the unique Lanham Act false advertising issues raised when a pharmaceutical company alleges that a competitor's sales representatives are orally making false claims in their visits with physicians. The authors highlight two recent cases addressing the proof necessary to establish that the defendants' reps are making false claims: Schering v. Pfizer, a recent decision by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, and Zeneca v. Eli Lilly, in which Kramer Levin obtained an injunction on behalf of our client, AstraZeneca, enjoining false statements by Eli Lilly's sales reps concerning AstraZeneca's breast cancer drug tamoxifen.

The article concludes that "[d]espite the hurdles, there are now several avenues available for a plaintiff to prove that a competitor's sales reps are orally making false claims, and that those claims are repeated and systematic and thereby violate the Lanham Act's proscription against false advertising. Schering and Zeneca provide a clear and viable road map."