Supplementary Protection Certificates (Patent Extensions)

Law and practice
Erscheinungsjahr 2014
ISBN: 978-1-84334-411-7
Verlag: Woodhead Publishing

Buch, Englisch, 200 Seiten

Supplementary Protection Certificates (SPCs) (patents extensions) for pharmaceutical and veterinary products were introduced in Europe in 1993. In 1996, a similar regime was introduced for agrochemical (crop protection) products. SPCs extend the period of protection given by a patent for a maximum of five years after the patent has expired. They were intended to compensate patent holders for the loss of exclusivity caused by the requirement in the pharmaceutical and agrochemical industries to obtain regulatory approval before a product can be marketed. SPCs are of enormous commercial significance to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, since they provide additional monopoly protection at a time when many products are reaching peak sales. This book provides a practical, unifying and comprehensive guide to the law as it now stands.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Curley, Duncan

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Historical background: Patent term erosion and the need for SPCs; The SPC regulation for pharmaceutical and veterinary products; The scheme of the regulation in outline; The SPC regulation for plant protection products; Scope of protection of SPCs: What are covered, what are not covered; Applying for SPCs: Administrative aspects; SPCs in practice: The case law in detail; Analysing the raediatric regulation and paediatric extensions.

Über Autor(innen)

Dr Duncan Curley trained and qualified in the intellectual property department of a ‘magic circle’ law firm in London, eventually becoming a partner at the international law firm of McDermott, Will & Emery. He set up his own law firm – Innovate Legal – in June 2007, specialising in advice to companies operating in the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors. Dr Curley has appeared in a number of high profile cases throughout his career, including Lenzing v Courtaulds (judicial review of a decision by the European Patent Office), Bespak v 3M (patent revocation proceedings concerning metered dose inhalers) and BioProgress v Stanelco (patent dispute concerning drug encapsulation technology). He is the author of over fifty published articles and his first book – Intellectual Property Licences and Technology Transfer (published by Chandos) – is the leading practical textbook on the impact of European competition law on technology licensing and the block exemption.