Lester Savit was a guest on The Docket with Evan Simon, a radio program that explores legal topics.

On January 16, 2012, One LLP partner Lester Savit was a guest on The Docket with Evan Simon, a radio program aired on KUCI (88.9 FM) that explores legal topics.  Lester was interviewed about a recent copyright dispute between professional photographer David LaChapelle and the entertainer Rhianna.  LaChapelle alleged in a federal lawsuit that Rhianna’s S&M music video used visual elements taken from eight LaChapelle photographs.  The case presented interesting issues about the extent that photographs are protected by copyrights.

Lester also was the featured guest on the radio show’s “ask a patent lawyer” segment.  The interviewer posed the question of when generic versions of drugs for treating ED will be publicly available.  This prompted a discussion of how patents can be used to protect new uses of old active ingredients.  In the case of VIAGRA, the active ingredient sildenafil was previously known to have pharmacological properties.  However, Pfizer, the maker of VIAGRA, was the first to discover its use for treating ED, and was awarded a patent covering that use.  Pfizer’s patent does not expire until 2019.

Listen to the radio segment: