Arrow Declarations
Author Dfrg.msc Public Domain Source Wikimedia Commons Jane Lambert Patents are intended to promote innovation but occasionally they work against the public interest. For instance, the term of a pharmaceutical patent that is about to expire may effectively be prolonged by a patent for a new dosing regime or a second medical use. Sometimes the patents for such inventions may be revoked or a declaration of non-infringement may be granted A company that wants to launch a competing product will often bring revocation or non-infringement proceedings to clear the way for the launch. However, s.69 (2) of the Patents Act 1977 makes clear that such proceedings can be brought only after a patent has been granted. There is a risk in launching a new product while a patent application is being considered because s.69 (1). allows a claim for damages to be backdated to the publication of the application. That can b...