Biogen Sufficiency Reconsidered

Intellecual Property Quarterly, No. 4, 2009

U of Melbourne Legal Studies Research Paper No. 448

33 Pages Posted: 4 Feb 2010

See all articles by David J. Brennan

David J. Brennan

University of Technology Sydney, Faculty of Law

Date Written: February 3, 2010

Abstract

In 2009 the House of Lords reconsidered Biogen sufficiency – a rule in UK patent law that confers jurisdiction upon courts to revoke unduly broad patent claims. Here a quite separate reconsideration of the rule is undertaken, with a primary focus upon its provenance and its relationship to the EPC. It will be shown that Biogen sufficiency has a basis in the EPC and that this basis both: (i) inscribed a modest line of UK sufficiency authorities, and (ii) had a material, albeit background, influence upon the acceptance of the rule in Biogen v Medeva. Following this examination of its origins, a critique of the rule will be offered with a suggestion that its conceptual foundation should be reconsidered.

Keywords: Biogen sufficiency, patent law

JEL Classification: K00, K19, K39

Suggested Citation

Brennan, David J., Biogen Sufficiency Reconsidered (February 3, 2010). Intellecual Property Quarterly, No. 4, 2009, U of Melbourne Legal Studies Research Paper No. 448, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1547349

David J. Brennan (Contact Author)

University of Technology Sydney, Faculty of Law ( email )

Sydney
Australia

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