A niche blog dedicated to the issues that arise when supplementary protection certificates (SPCs) extend patents beyond their normal life -- and to the respective positions of patent owners, investors, competitors and consumers. The blog also addresses wider issues that may be of interest or use to those involved in the extension of patent rights. You can email The SPC Blog here

Tuesday 15 December 2009

Escilatopram in Germany - the BGH decides

The German Federal Supreme Court (FSC) recently reversed the German Patent and Trademark Court decision on the validity of Escilatopram patent EP 0347 066 and its related SPC (SPC No. 103 99 030 to Escitalopram and non-toxic acid addition salts thereof) - Read the decision in original - here (unfortunately, no English language version available). The IPKat (Thanks!) provides a short summary of the facts of the case here.

On SPCs, the FSC held that a marketing authorisation for a racemic product does not prevent the grant of a supplementary protection certificate to an enantiomer form of the product based on a later marketing authorisation to the enantiomer of the product and a patent on that enantiomer.

You might recall that this case has also been heard and decided in the Netherlands (here in Dutch, and here for an English translation) and the UK (here).

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