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GLOSSARY

Supplementary protection certificate definition

Published by a LexisNexis IP expert

What does Supplementary protection certificate mean?

In relation to medicinal and plant protection products, a certificate provides patent like protection which lasts up to 5.5 years from the end of the patent.

The protection afforded by a certificate extends only to the product which is the subject of a market authorisation and does not extend the patent itself.

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Supplementary protection certificates and paediatric extensions—UK

This Practice Note provides an introduction to supplementary protection certificates (SPCs) and paediatric extensions (PEs) in the UK. It explains the rationale for their introduction, how and when to apply for them and how long they last. This Practice Note also considers the key judgments on SPCs from the courts of England and Wales and guidance on SPC procedure issued by the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO). It also discusses many references to the Court of Justice concerning the interpretation of Regulation (EC) 469/2009 and Regulation (EC) 1610/96, which govern SPCs for medicinal products and plant protection products in the EU (and, prior to Brexit, in the UK). The resulting Court of Justice decisions have shaped the scope of SPC protection in the EU and UK.For guidance on whether judgments of the Court of Justice are binding on UK courts, see Practice Note: Assimilated law—Assimilated case law.For a discussion focusing solely on the EU SPC regime, see Practice Note: Supplementary protection certificates and paediatric extensions—EU.Supplementary protection certificates (SPCs)What is an SPC?An...

Patent term, renewal and restoration

This Practice Note explains how long a patent lasts, how it must be maintained by renewal in order to last that long and how to restore a patent that has lapsed or will soon lapse.Obtaining a patent in the UKThere are two types of patents available in the UK:•UK national patents—these are granted by the UK Patent Office under the Patents Act 1977 (PA 1977)•UK designations of European patents (EP(UK) patents)—European patents are granted by the European Patent Office (EPO) under the European Patent Convention (EPC) but must be validated in the UK in order to have effect (be valid) thereFollowing Brexit, the UK remains part of the European patent system and can continue to be designated in European patent applications because the EPO and the EPC (the international treaty which establishes the procedure for the granting of European patents by the EPO) are both independent of the EU. The UK has simply become another non-EU country which is a contracting state to the EPC, joining Norway, Switzerland and Turkey.A...

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IP weekly highlights—17 April 2025

This week's edition of IP weekly highlights includes: a hand-picked summary of news analysis, updates and new content from the world of IP. These highlights focus on the key rights of copyright and associated rights, database rights, trade marks and passing off, designs, and patents, as well as covering issues relating to confidential information, know-how R&D and IP disputes all mainly from a UK and European perspective.

Life Sciences weekly highlights—17 April 2025

This week's edition of Life Sciences weekly highlights includes news that the European Commission published the second version of its guidelines on responsible use of generative AI in research that complements the EU Artificial Intelligence Act, the HRA and MHRA announced that the Medicines for Human Use (Clinical Trials) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 has been enacted into UK law initiating a 12-month implementation period to become fully effective on 10 April 2026, the Charted Institute of Taxation offers insight into the application of R&D relief to going concern rules in the context of intra-group transfers of trade, an EU committee found that ‘many pharmaceuticals’ would be captured by the proposed definition of per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) in the Water Framework Directive, the European Pharmacopoeia Commission adopted a new general chapter on human cell therapies providing for production and quality control preparations, the EMA has updated its Q&A guidance on GMP/GDP standards and the industry body for Notified Bodies released three position papers on AI regulation, IVDR certification and MDR...

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