Analysis of IP-related court decisions using e-discovery - a case study of Apotex Pty. Ltd. v Sanofi-Aventis Australia Pty. Ltd. & Ors

Abstract

The High Court of Australia concluded that methods of medical treatment are patentable with the judgement cited by Apotex Pty. Ltd. v Sanofi-Aventis Australia Pty. Ltd. & Ors. This is the first occasion the High Court has considered whether methods for the medical treatment of the human body are patentable inventions. This research paper investigates the High Court decision using an IP knowledge management and e-discovery approach, integrating techniques of ontology construction, text, and data mining algorithms, to evaluate the logical High Court decision made without the need to manually read, organise, and interpret all of the associated IP laws, opinions, and related cases. The ontological schema of the knowledge domain is constructed, based on the key terms that frequently appear in the opinions written by the High Court justices. K-means cluster analysis is applied to verify the linkages between the justices and their reason-based opinion statements. The research results demonstrate the consistency of the High Court decision, which can be derived and analysed scientifically using modern integrated methods of computer knowledge-based e-discovery. The research provides an innovative approach in accelerating IP court decision research where time to market and legal changes to market access requires immediate strategic management decision making and international market planning.