EUROPE
April 17, 2015
In case C-577/13 the ECJ has resolved that when a basic patent claims a product comprising an active ingredient which is the sole-subject matter of the invention, it is not possible to obtain a second SPC conferring protection to a combination of that active ingredient and another substance which is not novel.
Based on this consideration, the ECJ did not answer the questions referred for a preliminary ruling related to the possibility of amending the claims after the grant of a patent and considers such amended claims to be the "basic patent in forcé" for the purposes of fulfilling the conditions set out in Article 3(a) of Regulation No. 469/2009