by Dennis Crouch
In a significant win for the generic pharmaceutical industry, the Federal Circuit recently affirmed that legal expenses incurred defending Hatch-Waxman patent litigation can be deducted immediately as ordinary business expenses rather than capitalized. The decision in Actavis Laboratories FL, Inc. v. United States, No. 2023-1320 (Fed. Cir. Mar. 21, 2025), affirms the earlier ruling by Court of Federal Claims Judge Ryan Holte in favor of Actavis. The U.S. Government will now need to issue a tax refund of about $12 million just for 2008-2009.
