Guidance Issued On English Approach To Staying Patent Revocation Proceedings

In dismissing an appeal against a refusal to stay patent

revocation proceedings, the English Court of Appeal has set out

useful guidance on the criteria to be applied in determining

whether such proceedings before the English courts should be

stayed in favor of European Patent Office opposition

proceedings. Glaxo Group Limited v. Genentech Inc. and

Biogen Idec Inc., [2008] EWCA Civ 23 (Eng. Ct. of Appeal,

Jan. 31, 2008) (Mummery, Lord J.).

In order to clear the path for the commercialization of a

new product for rheumatoid arthritis, the claimant Glaxo

applied to the English Patents Court in February 2007 for

revocation of a European patent held by the defendants. Glaxo

had previously filed a notice of opposition to the patent at

the European Patent Office (EPO) and relied on the same broad

grounds of invalidity in both cases. The English...