House of Lords clarifies obviousness test
11 July 2008
Eklavya Gupte, London
Patent practitioners have welcomed a House of Lords ruling that clarifies the test for obviousness, saying it brings UK practice closer to that in continental Europe and should lead to more patents being upheld
On July 9, the House of Lords ruled in favour of Angiotech Pharmaceuticals in the closely watched case, Conor Medsystems Inc v Angiotech Pharmaceuticals Inc, upholding the validity of Angiotech’s European patent for a paclitaxel-eluting stent and reversing the decisions of the UK Court of First Instance and the Court of Appeal.
On May 24 last year, the House of Lords granted Angiotech Pharmaceuticals leave to appeal a Court of Appeal ruling that found the patent invalid on the grounds of obviousness.
The Court of Appeal ruling came just a day before a Dutch court ruled that the same European patent was valid, and highlighted the different approaches to obviousness taken by the UK and Dutch courts.
The UK courts had found the patent invalid as it contained insufficient experimental data or evidence to satisfy a reader that Taxol (a popular chemotherapy drug) was likely to be successful...
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