On 18 October 2023, the European General Court (GC) delivered its judgment in Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries and Cephalon v European Commission (Case T-74/21). The GC upheld the European Commission’s (EC) decision from 2020 (Case AT.39686), which imposed a combined fine of €60.5 million on Teva and Cephalon for their involvement in a “pay-for-delay” agreement dating … Read more

The role of a Contract Research Organisation (“CRO“) has become increasingly significant in the life sciences industry, providing invaluable support to clinical trial sponsors. In recent years, a trend towards CRO consolidation has been observed, driven by greater access to capital and strategic acquisitions. The legal landscape surrounding CRO agreements has become increasingly complex as … Read more

On 1 June 2023, the Unified Patent Court (UPC) and unitary patent (UP) system finally launched, bringing with it fundamental changes to the patent landscape across Europe. Laura Orlando, Milan Partner and Joint Global Head of Intellectual Property at Herbert Smith Freehills, was recently interviewed by Amy Sandys at JUVE Patent, alongside other private practice … Read more

Today marks the launch of the new Unified Patent Court (UPC) and unitary patent (UP) system in Europe – the culmination of decades of work, bringing with it fundamental changes to the way in which patents can be litigated in Europe. Find out more about the UPC, the unitary patent, and how our fully integrated … Read more

On 18 May 2023, the Italian government confirmed that the third Central Division seat of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) will be hosted in Milan. The statement issued by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has said that the new seat will be operational within one year. However, with the UPC launch … Read more

The UPC has announced that the UPC Presidium has exercised its managerial power to decide that matters before the UPC that would have fallen under the patent classifications (A and C) that would have originally gone to London until the UK withdrew from the UPC Agreement, will be shared between Paris and Munich initially, as of the UPC start date of 1 June 2023, until such time as a decision has been made on the third seat. Read more

The UPC has announced that the UPC Presidium has exercised its managerial power to decide that matters before the UPC that would have fallen under the patent classifications (A and C) that would have originally gone to London until the UK withdrew from the UPC Agreement, will be shared between Paris and Munich initially, as of the UPC start date of 1 June 2023, until such time as a decision has been made on the third seat. Read more

In order to ensure a unified, European and consistent appearance and content of orders and decisions of the UPC, a set of four templates (two for the CFI and two for the CoA) have been prepared and published by the UPC along with a series of non-binding "Guidances" aimed at facilitating the use of the templates by the judges of the UPC. Representatives of parties using making applications to the UPC are also suggested to follow the drafting guidance when making requests to the court, so these are in a format that corresponds to the possible format of the decision or order sought. Read more