Actavis UK Ltd v Merck, 2008 EWCA Civ 444
Citation:Sometimes tweaks to the way that a product is made/composition can actually be deemed to have led to the creation of a new patentable product. The Court in this case held that an ‘inventive dosage’ to improve upon an original breakthrough can be patented as a ‘second medical use’.
Rule of thumb: is an inventive dosage, or an inventive use of a medical process, patentable? As a general rule, no, however, if the original products can be tweaked (composition adjusted) so that the new method/composition is easier/better then perhaps.
Judgment:
Sometimes tweaks to the way that a product is made can actually be deemed to have led to the creation of a new patentable product. The Court in this case held that an ‘inventive dosage’ to improve upon an original breakthrough can be patented as a ‘second medical use’.
Warning: This is not professional legal advice. This is not professional legal education advice. Please obtain professional guidance before embarking on any legal course of action. This is just an interpretation of a Judgment by persons of legal insight & varying levels of legal specialism, experience & expertise. Please read the Judgment yourself and form your own interpretation of it with professional assistance.