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Further guidance from the CJEU on SPCs for combination products
In Teva v Gilead (C-121/17), the CJEU has given its answer to the question of when a drug composed of several active ingredients will be considered to be ‘protected by a basic patent in force’ under Article 3(a) of Regulation (EC) No 469/2009 (the SPC Regulation).
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Will EU law change to address challenges relating to 3D printing?
On 26 June 2018, the Committee of Legal Affairs of the European Parliament (JURI) published a report on three-dimensional printing specifically focusing on the challenges concerning IP rights and civil liability and called on the European Commission to consider such issues particularly when assessing Directive 2004/48/E (the "Enforcement Directive") and Directive 85/374/EEC (the "Product Liability Directive"). This has now been adopted by the European Parliament on 3 July 2018.
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Why your US colleagues are looking so relieved: SCOTUS issues its long awaited decision in Oil States
A sigh of relief could be heard from across the pond recently as the Supreme Court of the United States confirmed that inter partes review proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board are not unconstitutional.
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English court makes a call on jurisdiction for global FRAND licence
Are the English Courts the right forum for claims of patent infringement when the relief sought is the determination of a global FRAND licence? This was the question that Mr Justice Carr recently had to consider in Conversant Wireless Licensing SARL v Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.
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Why forego an entitlement to costs? - The effects of failing to register a transaction in a patent
Although the adverse consequences were perhaps less than they otherwise might have been, the recent decision in L'Oréal Société Anonyme & L'Oréal (UK) Limited v RN Ventures Limited underlines the benefits of registering transactions in a patent at the Intellectual Property Office.
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The Advocate General's clarification of the 'Specific Mechanism' in Pfizer Ireland Pharmaceuticals v Orifarm
Advocate General Tanchev recently gave his opinion in Pfizer Ireland Pharmaceuticals v Orifarm concerning parallel imports of etanercept (a drug used for treating arthritis) from new member states into Germany. The Regional Court in Düsseldorf referred questions to the CJEU seeking guidance on the scope of the so-called 'specific mechanism' exception.
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Article published on the Supreme Court's decision in Actavis v Eli Lilly
Last month the Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice published an article written by three members of our team analysing the key points of the landmark UK Supreme Court decision in Actavis v Eli Lilly.
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UK Supreme Court hearing reveals Law Lords' initial thoughts on pregablin patent case
The patent battle between Warner-Lambert (Pfizer) and Actavis and Mylan reached the Supreme Court in February 2018. Members of Fieldfisher's patent litigation team were in court to hear the judges' initial reaction to the arguments which can shed light on where the court's reasoned judgment will end up. The issues are of huge significance to users of the patent system. They include whether a patentable invention needs to be made "plausible" at the filing date and, if so, the level of information the patent application must include, and the correct approach to enforcing second medical use claims.
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Supreme Court poised to hear another landmark patent case – with an ever increasing number of interveners
Hot on the heels of its ground breaking decision last summer in Actavis UK Ltd v Eli Lilly & Co [2017] UKSC 48, which introduced a doctrine of equivalents into English law, the Supreme Court is poised to hear another very significant patent case, Warner-Lambert v Actavis, this month, as we report in this blog.
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Actavis v ICOS: a routine or surprising application of the "obvious to try" test by the Court of Appeal?
The Court of Appeal has declared obvious a patent claiming a particular dosage regimen of a known drug on the basis that the skilled team would have arrived at the alleged invention, inevitably, during routine dose-ranging steps in clinical trials (Actavis v ICOS [2017] EWCA Civ 1671).