Case No. S2014_002 ¦ Decision of 27 February 2014 ¦ “Anbieten eines Arzneimittels (Generikum) während Laufzeit eines ESZ für die Lieferung danach; Gutheissung einer superprovisorischen Massnahme”
Recently, I have reported on the oral hearing and the settlement in this matter. As noted, the FPC had ordered the defendant to refrain from advertising activities — without hearing the defendant beforehand (Art. 77 PatA; Art. 261(1), Art. Art. 265(1) CPC). This decision has been published yesterday.
The wording of the inquiry of future demand can now be deducted from the decision as follows (non-official translation into English language):
Das Patent von […] wird am 31. Mai 2014 ablaufen. Sie, als wichtiger Kunde, können uns mit dieser Bedarfsanfrage helfen, unsere Lagermenge dem Bedarf anzupassen. Da dies bei grossen Produkten schwierig ist und wir eine kontinuierliche Lieferfähigkeit sicherstellen möchten, bedanken wir uns bei Ihnen für Ihre Unterstützung.
The patent of […] is about to lapse on May 31, 2014. You are an important custumer and could help us with the present inquiry of demand to adapt our stock to meet the demand. This is difficult for large products and we want to assure the continuous ability to deliver; thank you very much for your support.
The FPC had no doubt that this constituted an infringement (Art. 140d, Art. 8 PatA). However, the FPC expressed some doubts with respect to the imputability of this inquiry to the defendant. Nevertheless, the FPC ordered the interim measure without hearing the defendant beforehand. The FPC assessed the principle of proportionality in a second line of reasoning: If it turned out later that the inquiry had not been conducted by the defendant, the defendant would have been prohibited from (further) doing something that he had never done, anyhow. Thus, the defendant would not have been harmed by the order.
Reported by Martin WILMING
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Case No. S2014_002 ¦ Decision of 27 February 2014 ¦ “Anbieten eines Arzneimittels (Generikum) während Laufzeit eines ESZ für die Lieferung danach; Gutheissung einer superprovisorischen Massnahme”
Lundbeck (Schweiz) AG ./. Sandoz Pharmaceuticals AG
Subject(s):
- Infringement of a SPC
Composition of the Board of the FPC:
- Dr. iur. Dieter BRÄNDLE (President, Single Judge)
- Lic. iur. Susanne ANDERHALDEN (Court Secretary)
Representative(s) of Plaintiff:
Representative(s) of Defendant:
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Full text of the decision right here:
