Legal change to reduce patent infringements could attract drug research back to the UK

A legal amendment which takes effect today could help to attract drug research back to the UK, according to patent and trade mark attorneys Withers & Rogers.

The amendment to the Patents Act 1977, which is part of the Legislative Reform (Patents) Order 2014, will remove the risk of patent infringement claims arising when carrying out clinical and other experimental trials for the development of new drugs.

Backed by an existing European Union directive known as the ‘Bolar Exemption,’ which until now has only been applied in a restricted manner in the UK, the amendment will significantly broaden the scope of the exemption that applies when testing medicinal products. In doing so, UK legislation will become at least as favorable to the innovator as that in some other parts of the European Union. The ‘Bolar Exemption’ is already applied in a broader way in some other EU member states, including Germany and Italy.