The return of SPC referrals…

Following previous posts on this case (here, here and here), the UKIPO will now be preparing its submission in the recent CJEU referral in Merck (Case C-567/16).

Marking the return of SPC referrals, of which a number have now followed, Simmons & Simmons (Andrew Hutchinson, Machteld Hiemstra and Nicholas Fischer) has published an article on this case – kindly available here.

As well as considering the referral and issues raised by Arnold J’s decision in respect of Article 3(b), this article analyses the UK IPO’s original decision under Article 3(c) and reviews the parallel Dutch Patent Office decision, which interestingly comes to a contrasting outcome under both grounds.