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AstraZeneca enforced its patent for an asymmetrical synthetic route to obtain esomeprazole in Denmark. The API manufacturer of the allegedly infringing pharmaceutical had developed its own- independent synthetic route with a significantly lower yield and had applied for a European patent for that process. AstraZenaca alleged that the detection of trace amounts (ppb) of certain…
The decision of the Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office which revokes a European patent due to lack of inventive step, is a supra-national legal instrument which can be the object of a complaint to the German Constitutional Court. Such complaints are only admissible if the protection of fundamental rights is no longer…
On 20 June 2011, Floyd J. granted a temporary restraining order preventing restraining Teva UK Limited (and two distribution companies, “Phoenix” and “AAH”) from advertising, offering for sale, selling or supplying its generic atorvastatin pending full hearing of the Warner-Lambert’s application for an interim injunction, listed for 11 July 2011. Warner-Lambert (a subsidiary of Pfizer…
The Court of Appeal of Barcelona lifted a preliminary injunction on the grounds that ‘omnibus’ claims (merely a reference to the description or drawings without specifically stating any technical features) included in patents granted under the old Patent Act 1929 are not enforceable. According to the Court, the omnibus claim in dispute is not an…
In a recent decision rendered by the Danish Supreme Court, the Court was asked to consider infringement of a patent granted for a plastic tooth pick. Several defences were raised by the alleged infringer, among them that in 1994 the Danish Patents Office, upon request, had issued an opinion stating under which conditions a plastic…
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…
