NIPC Law

Jane Lambert Court of Appeal (Lord Justices Floyd and Arnold and Lady Justice Nichola Davies) Genentech Inc v Comptroller and Master Data Center v Comptroller   [2020] EWCA Civ 475 (31 March 2020) These were appeals from the decision of Mr Recorder Campbell QC in Master Data Center, Inc v Comptrolle r [2020] EWHC 572 (Pat) (11 March 2020) which I blogged in Supplementary Protection Certificates - Master Data Center, Inc v The Comptroller   on   18 March 2020.  The cases are remarkable for the speed with which they progressed from the hearing officer to the Court of Appeal.  They were before Mr  Micklewright on 21 Feb 2020 (see  R e Genentech, Inc. and Master Data Center, Inc . BL O/111/20 21 Feb 2020), Mr Campbell on 4 March 2020 and the Court of Appeal on 26 of that month ( Genentech Inc v Comptroller and Master Data Center v Comptroller [2020] EWCA Civ 475 (31 March 2020).   The cases are also remarkable for being...

  Photo showing intermediate age-related macular degeneration Author US National Eye Institute Source Wikipedia Macular Degeneration   Jane Lambert Patents Court (Mr Recorder Campbell)  Master Data Center, Inc v Comptroller   [2020] EWHC 572 (Pat) (11 March 2020) A supplementary protection certificate ("SPC") is an intellectual property right ("IPR") that protects the active ingredients of a pharmaceutical or plant protection product. The IPR comes into being upon the expiry of a patent for the product. SPCs are granted because new pharmaceutical and plant protection products cannot be marketed unless and until they are found to be safe by the relevant national or European authorities. Evaluating the safety of a new drug or plant protection product can take time. As the maximum term of a patent is 20 years the time waiting for such evaluation reduces the effective term of the monopoly. The purpose of an SPC, as Lord Justice Floyd explained i...