GlaxoSmithKline Australia Pty Ltd v Reckitt Benckiser Healthcare (UK) Ltd [2016] FCAFC 90

GlaxoSmithKline Australia Pty Ltd v Reckitt Benckiser Healthcare (UK) Ltd [2016] FCAFC 90

Claim 9 could not be construed more broadly than the invention described in the specification and embodied in claim 1 so as to cover a syringe lacking the essential flat-nosed syringe configuration, and the absence of the described push-fitted interference feature in the accused liner meant the First Product did not infringe claim 9. However, "sealingly engaged" in claim 1 did not require a firm interference fit, so the First Product infringed claims 1 to 6. The Second Product did not infringe any claim because its alternate syringe was not the flat-nosed syringe defined by claim 1 and claim 9 could not extend to it.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
24 June 2016
Procedural Posture
Patent Infringement and Revocation Appeal / Appeal From Orders of the Federal Court at First Instance
Outcome
Appeal allowed in part. The First Product infringed claims 1 to 6 but not claim 9; the Second Product did not infringe any claim.
Legal Topics
['patent Claim Construction' 'omnibus Claims' 'infringement' 'fair Basis' 'sealingly Engaged' 'flat Nosed Syringe']
['intellectual Property' 'patents'] ['patent Claim Construction' 'omnibus Claims' 'infringement' 'fair Basis' 'sealingly Engaged' 'flat Nosed Syringe']

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Procedural Posture

Patent Infringement and Revocation Appeal / Appeal From Orders of the Federal Court at First Instance

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether the primary judge erred in finding that the Second Product infringed claim 9 of Australian Patent No. 2003283537.' 'Whether the primary judge erred in finding that the First Product infringed claims 1 to 6 and claim 9 of the patent.' 'Whether an omnibus claim using the expression "substantially as described with reference to the drawings and/or examples" could extend beyond the essential features described in claim 1 and the specification.' 'Whether "sealingly engaged" in claim 1 required a firm interference fit between the bottle neck liner and the bottle neck.' 'Whether claim 9, on the construction adopted by the primary judge, was fairly based on the matter described in the specification.']

Ratio Decidendi

Claim 9 could not be construed more broadly than the invention described in the specification and embodied in claim 1 so as to cover a syringe lacking the essential flat-nosed syringe configuration, and the absence of the described push-fitted interference feature in the accused liner meant the First Product did not infringe claim 9. However, "sealingly engaged" in claim 1 did not require a firm interference fit, so the First Product infringed claims 1 to 6. The Second Product did not infringe any claim because its alternate syringe was not the flat-nosed syringe defined by claim 1 and claim 9 could not extend to it.

Court Disposition

Appeal allowed in part. The First Product infringed claims 1 to 6 but not claim 9; the Second Product did not infringe any claim.

Orders

  • ['As to the First Product, the appeal be dismissed, other than in respect of the finding of infringement of claim 9 of Australian Patent No. 2003283537.' 'As to the Second Product, and the First Product in relation to the finding of infringement of claim 9 of the patent, the appeal be allowed.' 'Within 21 days, the...