EU patent reform pharma consequences

Last month saw a revised version of the European Patent Convention - EPC2000 - come into force, which has a number of consequences for the pharmaceutical industry and the way in which patent applications are examined. In addition, the "London Agreement" is expected to come into operation in the early part of this year, and this should significantly reduce the costs associated with validating a granted European patent in the designated state by cutting down on translation requirements.

Mark Sweetinburgh, a European patent attorney at Fry Heath Spence, said: "in general, it appears that the changes to the patent law brought about by EPC2000 will be of benefit to applications. However, it remains to be seen whether the benefits to those in the pharmaceutical industry will be outweighed by the restrictions imposed during the examination of multi-invention applications."

Multi-invention applications