Legal Areas

Supplementary Protection Certificates

Supplementary protection certificates (SPCs) offer manufacturers of medicaments and plant protection products the possibility to extend the duration of certain rights associated with their patent for a maximum of five years. In this way, the legislator compensates the patent owner for time lost between filing a patent application and obtaining regulatory approval. An SPC does not however extend the overall scope of protection of a patent, but merely provides protection for already approved active agents. Maiwald’s patent attorneys and attorneys-at-law specializing in pharmaceuticals and plant protection advise clients on all aspects of supplementary protection certificates and coordinate the corresponding procedures. Maiwald’s particular expertise in this area can be seen in its successful referral to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) of the question of how to deal with cases where the active ingredient for which an SPC has been applied for is not explicitly mentioned in the granted patent.