In its judgment of 10 May 2011 (docket no X ZR 16/09), the German Federal Supreme Court (BGH) took a restrictive position as regards claim construction, literal and equivalent use of a patent’s teaching. The Court summarised two guiding principles: (a) In case of contradictions between the patent claims and the description, such elements of…
A movement is emerging now among the French courts to stay the proceedings in litigations relating to supplementary protection certificates (SPCs) and more precisely relating to the interpretation of Article 3(a) of Regulation (EC) No. 469/2009 (former Regulation No. 1768/92): “the product is protected by a basic patent in force”. These proceedings are stayed waiting for future decisions…
In the antitrust case initiated by the Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) last October (see my posts here and here), Pfizer have offered a number of commitments in order to settle the case and avoid sanctions. These are the following. Firstly, Pfizer will offer an irrevocable and royalty-free license on EP 1225168 to all interested parties…
Co-author Christiaen Dekoninck The Antwerp Court applied the infringement test to assess the validity of a supplementary protection certificate (SPC) covering a combination product. As a result, the Court decided that Novartis is entitled to invoke its SPC covering the “valsartan/HCTZ” combination product against Teva’s generic version of Co-Diovan. By its decision of 13 May…
The Milan Court revoked a patent on the second medical use of a known drug because excerpts of the protocol of the clinical trials aimed at proving efficacy of the second use had been published before the relevant date in a scientific journal. The Court held that the outcome of the trials – which later…
The Court of Turin held that Article 68 (1 bis) of the Italian IP Code, which was introduced by Legislative Decree 131 of 13 August 2010, establishing that ‘Without prejudice to the provision of paragraph 1, companies intending to manufacture pharmaceutical specialties outside patent protection may commence the procedure of registration of the product containing…
Can a claim directed to a “Composition comprising A, B and C” amended into a “Composition consisting of A, B and C”, i.e. a composition that only contains A, B and C and no further components? Or does such an amendment violate the added matter provision of Art. 123(2) EPC? That is the question, and…
by Max v. Rospatt In a recent decision the Landgericht Duesseldorf (4a O 277/10 – Pramipexol) issued a preliminary injunction against a generic company before the generic was listed in one of the usual publications (Rote Liste, Lauer Taxe etc.). Plaintiff asserted infringing marketing activities solely based on information obtained from an independent market research…
In Denmark, a patentee may opt to apply for a utility model registration in addition to a patent, provided that the conditions for the grant of both rights are fulfilled. One of the strategic advantages of applying for both rights in Denmark is that the utility model registration is not subject to as thorough a…
The Hargreaves Review, or to refer to it by its official title, “A Review of Intellectual Property and Growth” by Professor Ian Hargreaves, was commissioned by the UK coalition government in 2010 to report on various issues pertaining to intellectual property with a particular focus on copyright, particularly in the online environment, as well as…
