Industrial property

SPC Case law – France – Paris Court of Appeal – January 12, 2024

Articles 3a) and 3c) of Regulation No. 469/2009 In a decision of 12 January 2024, the Paris Court of Appeal (Docket No. 22/16673) dismissed an appeal filed by Mylan Ireland Ltd and its French subsidiary Viatris Santé (together « Mylan ») against the decision of the Paris First Instance Court (Docket No. 22/55128). More specifically, the Paris Court of Appeal confirmed the first instance decision in that SPC FR08C0033 held by Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC (« Merck ») covering the combination of sitagliptin and metformin is valid. More specifically, MSD is the owner of European patent No. 1 412 357  (« EP 357 »). MSD...
Industrial property,Uncategorized

Opinion of Advocate General Nicholas Emiliou delivered on June 6, 2024 (1) Joined Cases C-119/22 and C-149/22

In an opinion of 6 June 2024, the Advocate General Emiliou suggests a straightforward and literal construction of Article 3 (c) of the SPC Regulation 469/2009, while providing clarifications on Teva I (C-121-17) on the interpretation of paragraph (a) of the same Article. Background AG Emiliou opine in the context of the closely followed cases opposing Merck Sharp & Dome Corp. (hereinafter Merck) to: Teva BV and Teva Finland Oy (hereinafter Teva), challenging the validity of Merck’s SPC covering a combination of sitagliptin (hereinafter substance A, as the opinion puts it) and metformin (substance B) to treat type 2 diabetes, in front...
Industrial property,Patents

On the requirements of Article 3 (a) of EC Regulation n° 469/2009: INPI vs Dana-Farber

Marc Névant (French and European Patent Attorney) In a decision dated 31 January 2024 (appeal n° B 22-18.374), the French Supreme Court (Cour de Cassation) dismissed an appeal filed by the French Patent Office (INPI) against the decision of the Paris Court of Appeal (RG n° 21/08514 of 25 May 2022) annulling INPI’s decision to reject SPC application n° 17C1046. In their decision, the Cour de Cassation held the following: 1/ The Court of Appeal did not confine itself to ruling by way of assertion but noted that EP 424 referred to methods for the generation and identification of an antibody directed against a given...
Industrial property,Intellectual property,Legislation,Patents

European Parliament Adopts Proposals for Unitary SPC and SPC Reform: A New Era for the Protection of Medicinal Products

[Welcome Aboard] Blip! SPC: Uniting the SPC Community It has been a few years since the SPC community had its own place on the internet, dedicated entirely to its guilty pleasure. Well, rejoice SPC addicts! We have the pleasure of introducing Blip! SPC, which we hope will help satisfy that craving. Blip! SPC is part of the Blip! intellectual property blog offered by the International Centre for Intellectual Property Studies (CEIPI) at the University of Strasbourg. The blog is intended to be a forum open to all SPC specialists to share their thoughts on national and EU jurisprudence, legislation and,...