UK Judge issues biotech patent principles
01 August 2008
Stephen Mulrenan, London
A leading UK judge has clarified the position of the UK courts on the scope of biotech patents and in particular gene sequence patents
In his July 31 judgment in Eli Lilly & Co v Human Genome Sciences Inc, High Court judge Mr Justice Kitchin laid down a set of principles which he said the UK courts should apply when considering whether or not a given patent possessed industrial applicability.
Kitchin said: 1) the notion of ‘industry’ should be construed broadly; 2) the capability of industrial exploitation must be derivable from the description in the patent read in conjunction with the skilled person’s common general knowledge; 3) the description must disclose a practical way of exploiting the invention in at least one field of industrial activity; 4) conversely, the requirement will not be satisfied if what is described is merely an interesting research result. The patent should not act so as to reserve for the applicant an unexplored field of research; 5) If a substance is disclosed and its function is essential for human health...
Only subscribers have complete access to Managing IP Magazine,
log in or
subscribe now.
Alternatively take a
free trial, giving you 48-hour access to Managing IP Magazine (some articles and surveys may be excluded).
Subscribe Now
This article is available to subscribers. Please click subscribe to read the rest of the article.
Subscribe
Take a free trial
Please take a free 48-hour trial to gain limited access. Some articles and surveys may be excluded.
Take a free trial