SPC 2027: The Supplementary Protection Certificates Update on Case-Law And EU Reform
- Latest developments in brief
- Optional booking: pre-course
Online-Seminar
From
1.390,00 €
plus VAT
Services & Process
Event - 1,390€ plus tax
The fee includes the 'live' participation via Internet, the access to the learning platform as well as course documentation for download.
Period:
Pre-Course: 17. February 2027 - 13:00 to 17:15
Advanced Course: 18. February 2027 - 09:00 to 17:00
Details:
€ 490 (+ German VAT) - pre-course (optional booking)
€ 1,390 (+ German VAT) - advanced course
Booking details
Online-Seminar
From
1.390,00 €
plus VAT
Services & Process
Event - 1,390€ plus tax
The fee includes the 'live' participation via Internet, the access to the learning platform as well as course documentation for download.
Period:
Pre-Course: 17. February 2027 - 13:00 to 17:15
Advanced Course: 18. February 2027 - 09:00 to 17:00
Details:
€ 490 (+ German VAT) - pre-course (optional booking)
€ 1,390 (+ German VAT) - advanced course
Our speaker, one of the leading SPC experts in Europe, will discuss the SPC referrals to the ECJ with you. He will put the decisions in context and will show you the consequences for national court practice and for your application practice.
Your speaker
Dr. Christopher Brückner
Patent Attorney/Pharmacist, Brückner IP, Munich (Germany)
is a German and European Patent Attorney and Pharmacist. He is the author of the standard reference commentary on SPC law. In addition…
Your speaker
Dr. Christopher Brückner
Patent Attorney/Pharmacist, Brückner IP, Munich (Germany)
is a German and European Patent Attorney and Pharmacist. He is the author of the standard reference commentary on SPC law. In addition Christopher is coauthor of the EPC commentary Singer/Stauder. He is a sought-after author, lecturer and commentator in this field. Christopher was appointed by the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court Christopher as an independent legal expert in a patent dispute in the pharmaceutical field. The Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition requested that Christopher participates in the preparation of a study commissioned by the EU.
Dr. Arno Hartmann
Vice President, Head of IP Advocacy and External IP Strategies Merck KGaA, Darmstadt (Germany)
Arno Hartmann is currently Head of IP Advocacy and External IP Strategies at Merck KGaA, Darmstadt…
Your speaker
Dr. Arno Hartmann
Vice President, Head of IP Advocacy and External IP Strategies Merck KGaA, Darmstadt (Germany)
Arno Hartmann is currently Head of IP Advocacy and External IP Strategies at Merck KGaA, Darmstadt (Germany). Before he was Vice President and Head of Patents Healthcare at Merck KGaA, responsible for all corporate patent affairs of the Merck Group's healthcare patent department, including patent prosecution, maintenance, and enforcement (litigation). He joined Merck KGaA in 1990 and became Head of Patent Pharmaceuticals in 2000. He is a core member of Merck KGaA's Strategic Innovation Process, which takes products outside the company's core business into venturecapital- financed start-ups. He is also co-chair of Merck's Access to Medicine initiative and related programs such as WIPO Re:Search. An expert in patent law, Hartmann has lectured extensively on due diligence, patent strategy, licensing and the exploitation of intellectual property. He studied chemistry at the University of Giessen, earning his degree in 1987 and his PhD in 1990.
What to Expect
- Key issues of the Supplementary Protection Certificates
- SPC reform, e.g. unitary SPC
- ECJ referrals from Medeva to Teva v MSD: context, background and interpretation
- Impact of the referrals on application practice and national court practice
- Pending referrals
Who Should Attend
Do you work in a corporate patent or IP department, or as a patent attorney in private practice and need an update on the ECJ's SPC case-law?
Then, this online course is intended for you. Prior knowledge of patents is a requisite.
Objective of the Event
In order to understand how to deal with supplementary protection certificates, one needs not only to understand the regulations but also the respective case-law. Thus the European Court of Justice has issued many important SPC decisions in the last few years: Medeva, Neurim, Actavis. The latest ones have raised more questions than have given answers. Our main speaker, one of the leading SPC experts in Europe, will discuss the referrals with you. He will put the decisions in context and will show you the consequences for national court practice and for your application practice. Dr Brückner will also give some hints as to pending referrals and yet unsolved questions which might be the subject of future referrals. As a wide-reaching reform of the SPC law is impending with, among others, a unitary SPC, our industry speaker will give you an
update on the reform and further recent developments.
Your Benefit
- You will be up to date with the case-law of the European Court of Justice on supplementary protection certificates
- You will get a better understanding of the articles of the regulations
- You will understand the impact of the unitary patent and the Unified Patent Court on supplementary protection certificates
- You will be up to date with regards to the EU SPC Reform
You agenda
Pre-Course: 17.02.2027 - 13:00 to 17:15
Advanced Course: 18.02.2027 - 09:00 to 17:00
Day 1
- Structure of the EU SPC Regulations
- Basic terms as "basic patent" etc. and relevant deadlines
- What can be protected?
- Third parties' authorisation
- Date of grant of basic patent and marketing authorisation
Introduction to the basic terms
Introduction to the basic terms
- Structure of the EU SPC Regulations
- Basic terms as "basic patent" etc. and relevant deadlines
Fundamental practical questions
Fundamental practical questions
- What can be protected?
- Third parties' authorisation
- Date of grant of basic patent and marketing authorisation
Day 2
- Merck v Sigma (C-579/13), Pfizer Ireland (C-681/16): referrals on Specific Mechanism
- Synflorix (C-631/13): definition of adjuvant
- Boehringer (C-577/13): combination claimed in second patent
- Forsgren (C-631/13): covalent binding of a biologic product
- Seattle Genetics (C-471/14): date of market authorisation
- F. Hoffmann - La Roche (C-572/15): duration of an SPC issued under national law
- Incyte (C-492/16): date of expiry of an SPC
- MSD (C-567/16): end of procedure notice equivalent to market authorisation?
- Teva v Gilead (C-121/17): product protected by a basic patent in force
- Boston Scientific (C-527/17): no SPCs for CE-marked devices
- Abraxis (C-443/17): first marketing authorisation for new formulations
- QH/Royalty Pharma (C 650/17): individualised embodiment
- Santen v INPI (C-673/18): no SPC for new therapeutic applications
- Mylan (C-473/22): liability for enforcing a later invalid patent
- Genmab (C-181/24): second marketing authorisation
- Teva v MSD (C-119/22): "product" in Art 3(a) and Art 3(c)
- Halozyme (C-456/24): "active ingredient"
- Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica (C-15/26): "first marketing authorisation"
(Further referrals will be covered if they are pending by the day of the course.)
SPC key issues and SPC reform (Unitary SPC etc.)
Medeva, Eli Lilly, Actavis and Georgetown II referrals: laying the ground
From Merck v Sigma to Teva v MSD
From Merck v Sigma to Teva v MSD
- Merck v Sigma (C-579/13), Pfizer Ireland (C-681/16): referrals on Specific Mechanism
- Synflorix (C-631/13): definition of adjuvant
- Boehringer (C-577/13): combination claimed in second patent
- Forsgren (C-631/13): covalent binding of a biologic product
- Seattle Genetics (C-471/14): date of market authorisation
- F. Hoffmann - La Roche (C-572/15): duration of an SPC issued under national law
- Incyte (C-492/16): date of expiry of an SPC
- MSD (C-567/16): end of procedure notice equivalent to market authorisation?
- Teva v Gilead (C-121/17): product protected by a basic patent in force
- Boston Scientific (C-527/17): no SPCs for CE-marked devices
- Abraxis (C-443/17): first marketing authorisation for new formulations
- QH/Royalty Pharma (C 650/17): individualised embodiment
- Santen v INPI (C-673/18): no SPC for new therapeutic applications
- Mylan (C-473/22): liability for enforcing a later invalid patent
- Genmab (C-181/24): second marketing authorisation
- Teva v MSD (C-119/22): "product" in Art 3(a) and Art 3(c)
Pending referrals*: what to expect
Pending referrals*: what to expect
- Halozyme (C-456/24): "active ingredient"
- Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica (C-15/26): "first marketing authorisation"
(Further referrals will be covered if they are pending by the day of the course.)
Downloads
Request the documents using our form.
More informations
Agenda
The agenda hast been adapted speifically to the medium and the respective seminar.
It is as follows:
Pre-course: Introduction to SPC
17 February 2027 I Online
starts at 13:00 CET, ends at 17:15 CET
breaks at 14:15 and 15:45 CET
Advanced course: SPC Update
18 February 2027 I Online
starts at 09:00 CET, ends at 17:00 CET
breaks at 10:30, 12:15 and 15:30 CET
Introduction to SPC
Attendees without prior SPC knowledge/ education are advised to attend the introduction to SPC pre-course on 17 February 2027.
13 hours CPD/pursuant to Section 15 FAO
At this event, participants will receive a certificate confirming 13 hours CPD/pursuant to Section 15 FAO (German Rules on Certified Specialist Lawyers].
This training as in-house course
The topic of this training - Supplementary Protection Certificates - can also be offered as a tailored course for your organisation. Just send an email to jc.alexandreho@foruminstitut.de with further details for a quote.
Benefits of a FORUM Institut training course
FORUM Institut’s all-in-one training platform uses the latest teaching methods.
All our online training courses take place in the Learning Space, our holistic learning environment with many features that promote effective and sustainable learning.
- Live and interactive learning on our Learning Space training platform
- A platform with many features: events rooms, chat, course agendas and documents, surveys, workshop rooms and much more
- Easy surveys with Slido
- ‘Deluxe’ chat: group chats, one-to-one chats, one-to-one video chats
- A central repository for documents and media
- Other services and apps such as Padlet and Mentimeter available directly on the platform
- The perfect marriage of teaching methods and technology
- High level of interactivity with plenty of opportunity for questions
- Continuous support throughout the event to ensure the most effective learning
- Free technical pre-meeting to start off your training on the right foot
Technical requirements
You need a reliable Internet connection to take part in our online events. To have the best possible learning experience, we recommend that you use the latest version of the Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome browsers. You will need a headset, loudspeaker or telephone to play the audio. Further information is available here. Please check beforehand that your microphone or headset and camera are working properly. Do not access our services from a VPN since there are issues with the audio over such connections.
We have integrated Zoom video conferencing software into our Learning Space for our online training courses. If you are not authorised to use Zoom, please get in touch with us so we can make alternative arrangements for you to take part in our online training.
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Your Contact Person
We are happy to advise you personally and individually.
Jean-Claude Alexandre Ho, LL.M.
Deputy Department Manager
+49 6221 500-675
jc.alexandreho@forum-institut.de