Patent in UK Law

Leading Cases
  • Synthon BV v Smithkline Beecham Plc (No.2)
    • House of Lords
    • 20 Octubre 2005

    If I may summarise the effect of these two well-known statements, the matter relied upon as prior art must disclose subject-matter which, if performed, would necessarily result in an infringement of the patent. That may be because the prior art discloses the same invention. In that case there will be no question that performance of the earlier invention would infringe and usually it will be apparent to someone who is aware of both the prior art and the patent that it will do so.

  • Catnic Components Ltd and Another v Hill and Smith Ltd
    • House of Lords
    • 1980

    A patent specification should be given a purposive construction rather than a purely literal one derived from applying to it the kind of meticulous verbal analysis in which lawyers are too often tempted by their training to indulge.

  • Mölnlycke A.B. v Procter & Gamble Ltd
    • Court of Appeal (Civil Division)
    • 27 Junio 1991

    Conversely the English court could not entertain a claim for the infringement of a German patent. English patent law as embodied in the Patents Act 1977 is founded on international convention, not just European Community convention, but, subject to certain special provisions of the Act, its application by the English court is a matter of English law.

  • Seager v Copydex Ltd
    • Court of Appeal (Civil Division)
    • 18 Abril 1967

    It depends on the broad principle of equity that he who has received information in confidence shall not take unfair advantage of it. He must not make use of it to the prejudice of him who gave it without obtaining his consent. He should go to the public source and get it: or, at any rate, not be in a better position than if he had gone to the public source. He should not get a start over others by using the information which he received in confidence.

  • Windsurfing International Inc. v Tabur Marine (Great Britain) Ltd
    • Court of Appeal (Civil Division)
    • 31 Enero 1984

    Thereafter, the court has to assume the mantle of the normally skilled but unimaginative addressee in the art at the priority date and to impute to him what was, at that date, common general knowledge in the art in question. Finally, the court has to ask itself whether, viewed without any knowledge of the alleged invention, those differences constitute steps which would have been obvious to the skilled man or whether they require any degree of invention.

  • Generics (UK) Ltd v H Lundbeck A/S
    • Chancery Division (Patents Court)
    • 04 Mayo 2007

    Paragraph [45] is, to my mind, key. The question of obviousness must be considered on the facts of each case. The court must consider the weight to be attached to any particular factor in the light of all the relevant circumstances. These may include such matters as the motive to find a solution to the problem the patent addresses, the number and extent of the possible avenues of research, the effort involved in pursuing them and the expectation of success.

  • Biogen Inc. v Medeva Plc
    • House of Lords
    • 31 Octubre 1996

    His expressed findings are always surrounded by a penumbra of imprecision as to emphasis, relative weight, minor qualification and nuance ( as Renan said, la v�rit� est dans une nuance), of which time and language do not permit exact expression, but which may play an important part in the judge's overall evaluation.

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Legislation
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Books & Journal Articles
  • Patent strategizing
    • No. 12-2, April 2011
    • Journal of Intellectual Capital
    • 168-178
    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to further the development of strategic thinking, relevant for both academics and practitioners, about a key asset in the knowledge economy: patents. Design/m...
  • The European Patent Office and its patent information policy
    • No. 9-6, June 1991
    • The Electronic Library
    • 329-332
    The European patent information policy of the European Patent Organisation (EPO) derives from a 1988 decision of the Administrative Council of the EPO. The intent of the policy is to improve access...
  • STUDIES ON PATENT CITATION NETWORKS
    • No. 34-1, January 1978
    • Journal of Documentation
    • 12-20
    Work is described on patent citation networks, a novel technique for displaying the history of technological subjects and their key turning points. The method accurately identifies the key patents ...
  • OBSOLESCENCE OF THE PATENT LITERATURE
    • No. 32-1, January 1976
    • Journal of Documentation
    • 32-52
    Patents deserve bibliometric study both for their own sake and because their formality can be exploited. Here the year by year issue of US patents since 1836 is used to correct for growth their app...
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Law Firm Commentaries
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