With the much anticipated Unitary Patent likely to come into effect later this year, the European Commission has raised the possibility of creating a unitary supplementary protection certificate. The announcement from the Commission states:
"Supplementary protection certificates (SPCs) are intellectual property rights extending patent protection for specific medicinal and plant protection products.
While this regime is fit for purpose, differences between EU countries in its administration and enforcement create inefficiencies.
This initiative will put in place a unitary SPC and/or a single ('unified') procedure for granting national SPCs. This will make SPCs more accessible and efficient, and benefit the health sector."
Our guide the SPC's can be found here:
What is a Supplementary Protection Certificate (SPC)?
The Commission has launched a consultation and call for evidence between 08 March 2022 - 05 April 2022 to receive comments on this proposal. We would encourage those for which SPC form a vital part of their intellectual property portfolio to participate in the Commission's consultation here:
Medicinal & plant protection products – single procedure for the granting of SPCs
This move to create a unitary SPC is likely to be welcomed by the pharmaceutical industry and may form a more convenient and streamlined system for obtaining SPC in Europe. We will report further developments on our website.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.