During the past year, I blogged quite a bit about the generic version of the anti-coagulant drug Plavix battle between Bristol Myers and Apotex. In the latest rounds, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on December 8 affirmed the preliminary injunction that the district court awarded Bristol Myers against Apotex’s continued marketing of the generic version in the U.S. The lower court did not require Apotex to withdraw the generics that it had already sold, however, and neither did the appellate court. Earlier this week, a Canadian appellate court rejected an Apotex attempt to sell the generic version in Canada. The U.S. district court now will consider whether Apotex violated Bristol Myers’ patent on Plavix.

I also blogged about the theft of a Veterans Affairs Department laptop computer that held personal data on millions of veterans. That case ended with the recovery of the computer, and the FBI determined that the information had not been abused. On December 21, President Bush signed the Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and Information Technology Act of 2006 , Pub. L. No. 109-461, that tightens up information security at that Department, among other things.