News & Insights (Patents)

Advocate General recommends that the ECJ dismiss AstraZeneca's appeal against Losec antitrust decision

Last year, we reported on AstraZeneca's decision to appeal to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) against a finding by the ...

AG in Neurim allows SPCs for usage patents

Case C-130/11 Neurim Pharmaceuticals In Neurim the UK court is seeking additional clarification from the European Court of ...

NHS Primary Care Trusts challenged in the UK for use of cheaper drug off-licence

Novartis announced on Tuesday that it is seeking a judicial review of a decision made by four NHS Primary Care Trusts to approve ...

Cross border injunctions possible in patent cases says Advocate General

Cross border injunctions possible in patent cases says Advocate General C 616/10 Solvay SA v Honeywell Fluorine Products ...

UK Government consults on “above the line” research and development

The Government announced in its Autumn Statement in November 2011 that it would consult on the introduction of an 'above the ...

The unitary European patent and the unified European patent litigation system - no political agreement but still opportunities to have your say

There have been no developments of any significance towards finalising agreement on the "EU patent package” (unitary patent, ...

Employees on Twitter – strict liability for pharma?

A recent ruling by the Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority (the “PMCPA”) has illustrated the challenges that ...

Taylor Wessing awarded European Life Sciences IP Firm of the Year 2012

Taylor Wessing has won the European Life Sciences IP Firm of the Year 2012 at the Managing Intellectual Property Global Awards ...

Patent infringement in the UK and Europe

Usage patents, carve-outs, skinny labelling and off-label prescribing The competitive environment in which life sciences ...

Quetiapine patent, for sustained release formulations, invalid in the UK

Mr. Justice Arnold handed down judgment of the UK High Court today declaring patent EP (UK) 0 907 364 invalid for obviousness. ...

InFocus: Life Sciences & Healthcare e-newsletter - January 2012

Welcome to the January issue of InFocus, our life sciences and healthcare e-newsletter. In this issue we look at: ...

A unitary European patent and a unified European patent litigation system – still no political agreement

The latest news is that the so-called Warsaw Convention was not signed on 22 December.  According to the press release from ...

Life Sciences Review of the Year 2011, and a Preview of 2012

2011 was a year in which the UK life sciences industry has had much to consider: the NHS reforms, the Government’s Strategy for ...

A unitary European patent and a unified European patent litigation system – political agreement by the end of 2011?

Following on from our report in October and our article in BSLR*, Poland which currently holds the rotating presidency of the ...

SPCs for combination products - where are we now and what’s ahead in 2012?

There has been a multitude of references to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to determine how and under what conditions, SPCs ...

The Patent Box - how is it shaping up?

The draft legislation for the Patent Box was published on 6 December 2011, just under two years after its introduction was ...

Negative and zero term SPCs OK says the ECJ

Merck & Co. Inc. v Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt (Case C-125/10) ECJ decide on negative / zero term SPCs and the starting ...

The future of EU specification drafting

AG opinion rocks the boat with OHIM Advocate General Bot handed down his eagerly awaited opinion on Tuesday in the IP TRANSLATOR ...

SPCs for combination products: Clarification from the ECJ today?

In the October issue of our life sciences and healthcare eBulletin, InFocus, we set out the background and discussed Advocate ...

News on the Patent Box and the R&D tax credit proposals

HM Treasury is expected to publish draft legislation on 6th December 2011, covering both the Patent Box and the R&D tax ...

Taylor Wessing launches dedicated Tech City office

InFocus: Life Sciences & Healthcare e-newsletter - October 2011

Welcome to the October issue of InFocus, our life sciences and healthcare e-newsletter. In this issue we look ...

A unitary European patent and a unified European patent litigation system – political agreement by the end of 2011?

Unitary Patent As we reported in the July InFocus draft regulations were published on the establishment of a unitary European ...

The Rise Of The Smartphone: Compliance Challenges

The smartphone market has grown exponentially in size and sophistication over the last few years.  The first App store and ...

CJEU Judgment in Synthon v Merz (Case C-195/09)

Today the CJEU gave judgment in the Synthon v Merz preliminary reference (C-195/09). This was a reference from the UK High Court ...

Advocate General's Opinion in SPC referral - infringement test rejected

As previously reported in our e-newsletters, InFocus - January 2011 and InFocus - October 2010, there have been a number of ...

InFocus: Life Sciences & Healthcare e-newsletter - July 2011

Welcome to the July issue of InFocus, our life sciences and healthcare e-newsletter. In this issue we look at: ...

EU Patent and unified patent litigation system - Update July 2011

Despite the tortuous route to a unified patent and a unified patent litigation court in Europe, both now appear to be a small ...

HM Treasury consults further on the Patent Box and R&D tax credits

The anticipated consultation on the Patent Box was finally published by HM Treasury on 10 June 2011 together with a linked ...

Negative and zero term SPCs OK says Advocate General

Merck & Co Inc v Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt (Case C-125/10) In his opinion on 9 June 2011, Advocate General Yves Bot ...

Informal consultation on the UK bolar and research exemptions

In its Plan for Growth published in March, the UK Government committed to ensure that the intellectual property system in the UK ...

Jurisdictional arrangements for the EU patent to be discussed at the EU Competiveness Council meeting next week

Following the publication by the Commission of the draft regulations necessary to implement unitary patent protection on 13 April ...

Over complexity and funding gap: potential stumbling blocks for Hargreaves' Digital Copyright Exchange

The Hargreaves Review published today recommends that the Government bring together rights holders and other business interests ...

Double partner hire in IP for Taylor Wessing

Following the recent news of Niki Walker's appointment as a new partner to the Employment & Pensions group, international law ...

You never give me your money: Competition law, damages actions, and the healthcare sector

Public healthcare bodies that have suffered loss as a result of competition law infringements should consider ‘follow on’ damages ...

InFocus: Life Sciences & Healthcare e-newsletter - April 2011

Welcome to the April issue of InFocus, our life sciences and healthcare e-newsletter. In this issue we look at: ...

When taking a medicine off the shelves infringes competition law

At a time when industry experts are talking about the death of the blockbuster drug, product lifecycle management strategies are ...

The EU Patent and the European and EU Patents Court - an update

Following the CJEU opinion on the unified patent litigation system on the 8 March and the European Council vote on the unified ...

Budget 2011 – Chancellor confirms details of “Patent Box” and other corporate tax reforms – further consultations in May

As we reported in the January issue of InFocus the long anticipated document entitled “Corporate Tax Reform” was published by the ...

Green light for the Community Patent

Earlier this week, we reported on the CJEU's decision that a unified patents court, in the form proposed, would not be compatible ...

European and Community Patents Court is not compatible with European Treaties

Back to the drawing board In February, we reported on progress made at the European level in developing a unified European ...

The EU Patent and the European and EU Patents Court - March 2011 could be a critical month

At the end of 2010 we posed the question - are we any closer to a unified patent system for Europe? Well, last week, using a fast ...

The return of the Global IP Index

The Taylor Wessing Global Intellectual Property Index (GIPI) team are delighted to announced the opening of the GIPI3 survey. ...

InFocus: Life Sciences & Healthcare e-newsletter - January 2011

Welcome to the January 2011 edition of InFocus, the Life Sciences and Healthcare newsletter. This month we discuss: Sold Out - ...

New European rules on agreements between competitors

The New Research & Development and Specialisation Block Exemption Regulations and Horizontal Co-Operation Agreements ...

The EU Patent and the EU Patents Court - what does 2011 hold?

As we enter 2011 the question still remains - are we any closer to a unified patent system for Europe?  Below is a summary ...

Corporate Tax Reform - Controlled Foreign Company Rules

The long anticipated document entitled "Corporate Tax Reform" was published by the Government on 29 November 2010. The ...

More heartburn for the pharma sector

The European Commission has escalated its crackdown on the pharma sector, conducting dawn raids yesterday on the originator ...

Virgin Atlantic Airways loses its business lie flat bed case against Delta Airways

Yesterday, Mr. Justice Arnold handed down his judgment in Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd v Delta Airways Inc on a summary judgment ...

MPF award for Taylor Wessing's commitment to sustainability

Taylor Wessing is celebrating after winning the Sustainability Reporting category at the prestigious MPF European Practice ...

"Dangerous" Intellectual Property Myths

Most people these days have heard of intellectual property (or at least copyright).  Whilst the general public's awareness ...

Faster, cheaper IP litigation?

From 1 October 2010, a new procedure becomes available in the English Patents County Court (‘PCC’). It is intended to permit more ...

Innovation and Flexibility in Litigation Funding

Cost control and certainty is key to successful litigation.   We can help you take the risk and cost of litigation ...

The European Commission's 1st Report on the Monitoring of Patent Settlements was published on 5 July 2010

The Report looks at the European competition law aspects of patent settlements, identifies potentially problematic types of ...

Court of Justice follows AG's opinion and limits the scope of DNA patents

We reported previously on Advocate General ("AG") M Paolo Mengozzi's non-binding opinion to the Court of Justice of the ...

Litigation Funding

Cost control and certainty are key elements of successful litigation. The approach to litigation funding is evolving with an ...

Protecting the Crown Jewels

This article looks at some of the main IP risks associated with outsourcing product development and manufacture, and sets out ...

A guide to the Digital Economy Act 2010

On 8 April 2010 the Digital Economy Act 2010 (the "Act") received Royal Assent. The Act covers a wide range of issues ...

Clarification on software patents in Europe expected today

Decision in EBA case G3/08 The patentability of software is an issue on which strong views are held on either side of the ...

CFC Proposed Reforms - impact on IP Rich Groups

On 26 January 2010, the Government published a Discussion Document outlining its current thinking on the reform of the United ...

InFocus - Life Sciences & Healthcare e-newsletter - January 2010

Life Sciences & Healthcare Update - December 2009

EU moves closer to Biosimilar antibodies

Taylor Wessing TMT Patents Update

This update provides an overview of some recent key developments relating to patents in the technology, media and ...

Patents and the EU medtech sector: a slumbering volcano

Tim Worden discusses the patent situation regarding medical devices in the EU in this article written by Faraz Kermani for the ...

Patents Update - November 2009

This update aims to provide an overview of some key developments of November 2009.  Most notably, there have been ...

German Parliament Adopts Amended Patent Law Bill

On 28 May 2009 the German federal parliament (Bundestag) adopted the government’s draft bill to simplify and modernise German ...

Actavis v Novartis: the Conor effect and technical obviousness

ECJ boost for borderline Products

Providing UK patent litigants with a real alternative

Taylor Wessing Review of Patent Cases in 2008

The first assessment of damages caused by an injunction on a patent later found to be invalid

Key considerations in choosing where to litigate a European patent

Community Patent and Single Court Suffer Familiar Setback

Protection for DNA-based claims in Europe

No ban on stem cell patents in Europe?

Interim Injunctions in the UK - Recent Pharma Cases in the Patents Court

UK Court clarifies law on selection patents under the Patents Act 1977

Les Laboratoires Servier v Apotex [2008] EWHC (Ch) 2347

Monsanto Technology LLC v Cargill International SA

Tech-tonic: Technology industry patent law newsletter

Tech-tonic - May 2008 edition In this first issue, we look at: the conflict between patents and standards - recent cases in ...