Abbott Laboratories v. Geneva Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Abbott Laboratories (plaintiff) sued Geneva Pharmaceuticals Inc. (defendant) for patent infringement. More than one year before Abbott filed its '207 patent, a third party had sold the drug that Abbott later patented, though the exact nature of the product was unknown at the time of that sale.

Whether a prior sale of a product triggers the on-sale bar to patentability under 35 U.S.C. section 102(b) even where the seller was unaware of all of the product's characteristics.