UPC And Forum Shopping ' Rule 17.3

• Published date: 06 November 2023
• Subject Matter: Intellectual Property, Food, Drugs, Healthcare, Life Sciences, Patent, Food and Drugs Law
• Law Firm: HGF Ltd
• Author: Mr Harry Hutchinson and Lauris Kemp

Order of the classifications listed on the front of a patent and why it matters?

On 1 June 2023, ASTELLAS INSTITUTE FOR REGENERATIVE MEDICINE lodged a statement of revocation of the European Patent No. EP 3056564 B1 entitled "method for purification of retinal pigment epithelial cells" before the Central Division of the UPC against the concerned registered proprietors, namely HEALIOS KK and OSAKA UNIVERSITY.

Bear in mind the title of the patent in suit for remainder of the article. Note also, claim 1 of the patent as granted, which is:

"1. A method of purifying a retinal pigment epithelial cell, comprising the steps of: (1) recovering a cell population obtained by differentiation induction of pluripotent stem cells on laminin or a fragment thereof by treating with a cell separating solution, wherein the cell population contains retinal pigment epithelial cells which are present on the laminin or the fragment thereof under a jelly-like substance containing other visual cells without forming a mixture with the jelly-like substance; (2) dissociating adhesion between retinal pigment epithelial cells of the cell population; (3) introducing the cell population obtained in (2) on a filter; and (4) obtaining retinal pigment epithelial cells that passed the filter."

The UPC has three seats. The main seat of the Central Division is Paris. Two further seats are in Munich and Milan.

As will be appreciated from Decision of the Administrative Committee under Article 87(2) UPCA amending the Agreement, Article 1, the division of actions between the three seats of the Central Division is shown below in Table 1.

Milan Section	Paris Seat	Munich Section
President's Office
(A) Human necessities, without supplementary protection certificates	(B) Performing operations transporting	(C) Chemistry, metallurgy without Supplementary protection certificates
(D) Textiles, paper	(F) Mechanical engineering lighting, heating, weapons, blasting
(E) Fixed constructions
(G) Physics
(H) Electricity
Supplementary protection certificates

TABLE 1

The Central Division in Milan will oversee matters in IPC section (A), with the exception of SPCs; the latter being handled by Paris. The Central Division in Munich will handle matters in IPC section (C).

The bibliographical details of the patent in suit had the following International Classifications

"(51) C12N 5/079 A61K 35/30"

However, the matter was not initially heard by the Munich seat. Therefore, Panel 1 of the Central Division...