Category: International IP
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Following the issuance of decision G2/07 in connection with the "Broccoli" patent, which discussed whether plant breeding methods were excluded from patentability as essentially biological processes for the production of plants, the Technical Board of Appeal in proceedings T83/05 have now referred further questions to the Enlarged Board of Appeal, relating to whether the exclusion…
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The Court of Appeal recently issued a decision concerning the issues that should be considered when granting an interim injunction. The proceedings related to Novartis' product zoledronic acid, which was used to treat osteoporosis. This product was covered by a supplementary protection certificate (an SPC), as well as two use patents. Hospira, a generics company,…
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The Court of Appeal recently heard a case relating to Genentech's patent, which claimed the use of human vascular endothelial growth factor (hVEGF) antagonists for the treatment of non-cancerous diseases which are characterised by excessive blood vessel growth (neovascularisation or angiogenesis). Regeneron and Bayer sought a declaration of non-infringement and revocation of the patent based…
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In Oliver Brüstle v Greenpeace (Case 34/10) the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled that any non-fertilised but parthenogenically stimulated human ovum constitutes a "human embryo" within the meaning of Article 6(2)(c) as it is capable of commencing the process of development of a human being in the same way as an…
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By Donald Zuhn — Earlier this year, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and European Patent Office announced the formal launch of the Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) system, a global classification system for patent documents. The CPC system includes approximately 250,000 classification symbols based on the International Patent Classification (IPC), which is administered by the…
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Merck Canada Inc and Merck Sharp & Dohme Ltd v Sigma Pharmaceuticals plc Prior to their accession to the European Patent Convention, several states did not allow patent protection for pharmaceutical products. To address this, a special derogation known as "The Specific Mechanism" was put in place. This Specific Mechanism allows the holder of a…
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Following on from their previous challenge to the adoption of the unitary patent system on the basis of the concept of enhanced cooperation, and as eventually dismissed by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), Spain and has launched further challenges; this time directed to Regulations underpinning the Unitary Patent System. The further…
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By Kevin E. Noonan — On May 1st, Acting U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Demetrius Marantis issued the 2013 Special 301 Report. According to the USTR website, the Report "demonstrates U.S. resolve to take strong action to support critical jobs and exports in IP-intensive industries." "The actions reflected in this year's report send a message to…
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By Donald Zuhn — In March, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) announced that International patent applications filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) increased by 6.6% in 2012. WIPO noted that of the 194,000 PCT applications filed last year, Japan and U.S. accounted for nearly half (48.8%) of those applications. Five countries had double-digit…
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The "Obvious to Try" Test Is Overused in Assessing Obviousness The UK Court of Appeal Decision in Novartis AG vs Generics (UK) Ltd (trading as Mylan), provides insight into the UK court's approach to judging the validity of patents relating to enantiomers of biologically active compounds. UK Patent No. 2,203,040 to Novartis AG (and the…
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