Supplementary Protection Certificates (SPC)

Supplementary protection certificates (SPC) extend the effects of patents for medicinal products by a maximum of five and a half years, i.e. the certificate becomes effective at a time when the respective pharmaceutical is widely known on the market and thus generates the maximum revenue. This explains the enormous economic value of SPCs. They protect some of the most valuable products in the pharmaceutical industry. The legal basis for the SPC for medicinal products is a European Regulation. 

The obtaining provisions of that Regulation, the scope of protection etc. are highly disputed and have been the subject of numerous decisions of the CJEU. This handbook provides valuable insights into the world of SPCs and the most significant case law and legal sources at EU and national level of Germany, the UK, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Switzerland. The second completely revised edition specifically addresses recent developments of SPCs including manufacturing waivers and the implications of “Brexit”.

Dr Marco Stief, LL.M. (University of Chicago), attorney-at-law, is partner at Maiwald Patentanwalts- und Rechtsanwalts-GmbH Munich.