When Canopy Growth Corp. announced a plan to acquire cannabis researcher Ebbu Inc. for US$330 million last October, it touted the company’s intellectual property as the primary reason for the deal, mentioning it five times in the short press release.
“This is going to be a problem for a generation,” said Dale Hunt, founder and senior attorney at San Diego-based Plant & Planet Law Firm, which specializes in cannabis patent law. “There’s going to be a cloud over how valid the patents are, and that’s definitely going to translate into litigation.” However, patent applications aren’t published until 18 month after they’re filed, meaning its real portfolio could be significantly larger. Ebbu says on its website that it has filed more than 40 cannabis-related patents representing over 1,500 inventions.
“There’s no real barrier to filing one other than drafting it and paying the fees,” said David Wood, a Calgary-based partner at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP focused on cannabis patents and intellectual property. “There’s a lot of noise and probably a lot of stuff that’s been filed that doesn’t make sense.”
When deciding whether to grant a patent, officers review what’s known as “prior art,” or evidence that indicates an invention already exists. This would include things like academic publications or well-documented commercial activity.