Patent Supplementary Protection Certificate (SPC)

A Supplementary Protection Certificate is a national right effectively extending the protection of patented active ingredients present in pharmaceutical or plant protection products. SPCs were created by EU legislation and the system was set up with the aim of offsetting the loss of patent protection for pharmaceutical and plant protection products that occurs due to the testing and clinical trials these products require prior to obtaining regulatory marketing approval.

Supplementary Protection Certificate (SPC) Experience

Interpretation of the Regulations by the national courts and Patent Offices has presented a significant challenge, leading to many referrals to the CJEU. Current SPC law in the UK is governed by EU Regulations. Following Brexit, the UK government has indicated their plan to incorporate EU law into UK national law.

The CMS team is at the forefront of SPC practice having been instrumental in establishing the SPC blog which currently has almost 1.5 million page views. This has now migrated to LinkedIn (SPC blog @ LinkedIn) where we post regular updates on the latest news and case law. We can provide strategic filing advice, benefitting from many years’ experience of managing SPC portfolios.

You can also find out more about the Update on UK Supplementary Protection Certificates post-Brexit.

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