NIPC Law

Author   Dfrg.msc   Public Domain Source  Wikimedia Commons   Jane Lambert Court of Appeal (Lords Justices Arnold and Nugee and Sir Christopher Floyd) Teva UK Ltd and another v Novartis AG    [2022] EWCA Civ 1617 (8 Dec 2022) This was an appeal against Mrs Justice Bacon's refusal to grant an Arrow declaration in  Teva UK Ltd and another v Novartis AG [2022] EWHC 2779 (Ch) (19 Oct 2022). Lord Justice Arnold defined an Arrow declaration as "a declaration that a product, process or use was lacking in novelty or obvious as at the priority date of a patent application" at para [17] of his judgment in  Teva UK Ltd and another v Novartis AG [2022] EWCA Civ 1617.  He explained that Arrow declarations take their name from the seminal decision of Kitchin J (as he then was) in Arrow Generics Ltd v Merck & Co Inc [2007] EWHC 1900 (Pat), [2008] Bus LR 487.  He continued:   "The point of such declaration is that it is in eff...

  Jane Lambert Patents Court (Mr Justice Mellor) Abbott Laboratories Ltd v Dexcom In c. [2021] EWHC 2246 (Pat) (6 Aug 2021) This was an application for an order to expedite the trial of an action that Abbott Laboratories Ltd. ("Abbott") had begun 2 days earlier against Dexcom Inc ("Dexcom") for the revocation of 4 of Dexcom Inc's European patents. The reason for the action and application is that Dexcom had brought proceedings for the infringement of those patents in Germany.  The trials of those actions were likely to take place between early March and the end of April 2022. In Germany, unlike the United Kingdom, it is not possible to challenge the validity of a patent in infringement proceedings.  Alleged infringers who wish to challenge the validity of the patent they are alleged to have infringed must bring opposition proceedings in the European Patent Office under art 99 of the European Patent Convention or start separate revocation proceedings in Germany....

Sarah Stierch / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) Jane Lambert Patents Court (Mr Justice Birss)    Facebook Ireland Ltd v Voxer IP LLC [2020] EWHC 1806 (Pat) (7 July 2020) Yesterday, I explained in International Patent Litigation - Nicoventures Trading Ltd v Philip Morris   16 July 2020 that defendants to German patent infringement claims often bring actions to revoke the UK designation of the same European patent because it is not possible to challenge the validity of a patent in infringement proceedings in Germany.  The thinking behind that strategy is the courts in countries that are party to the European Patent Convention take account of each other's decisions on the same patent.  That strategy works, however, only if the UK revocation action is decided before the German infringement one.   To ensure that it does, the court may have to order the expedition of the UK trial as it did in    Nicoventures...

Basher Eyre / Junction of Fetter Lane and Rolls Buildings Jane Lambert Patents Court (Mr Justice Birss)   Nicoventures Trading Ltd v Philip Morris Products, SA ( [2020] EWHC 1594 (Pat) (16 June 2020) This was an application by Philip Morris Products SA ("Philip Morris") to expedite the trial of an action that it had brought against British American Tobacco ("BAT") for the invalidation of European patents (UK) 3 398 460 and 3 491 944 for heated tobacco products which had been invented by John Howard Robinson and others ("the Robinson patents").  BAT resisted the application on the ground that the case for expedition had not been made out. However, there was also a contingent cross-application by BAT for expedition of the trial of an action that it had brought against Philip Morris for the invalidation of the Robinson patents and a counterclaim for the infringement of European patents (UK) 3 248 484, 3 248 486, and 3 248 483 for heated ...

Jane Lambert A rather more interesting Brexit Briefing this month  because the UK has ratified the Unified Patent Court Agreement.  The article sets out the background to ratification and considers whether it will make a difference.  Also discussed are the proposals to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland and indications that HMG will accept the backstop arrangements for birder checks between Great Britain and both parts of the island of Ireland set out in the draft withdrawal agreement notwithstanding political and constitutional challenges to which that could lead. Finally, there is the agenda for discussions on the future partnership between the UK and EU after Brexit which would include services and some encouraging remarks about the city of London from Monsieur Barnier at the Eurofi High Level Seminar in Sofia on 26 April 2018. More