Merial, Inc. v Intervet International B.V. [2016] FCA 1047

Merial, Inc. v Intervet International B.V. [2016] FCA 1047

Intervet established that the product development reports were confidential and commercially sensitive, but the balance favoured disclosure to Dr Jarecki-Black because she was not involved in competitive decision-making, patent drafting or product development, had a legal role and experience with confidentiality regimes, had no history of misuse of confidential information, would execute a confidentiality undertaking, and Merial would give an undertaking to meet loss from improper disclosure. The risk of accidental or inadvertent disclosure was very low, while Merial had a strong need for its instructing representative at trial to understand documents Intervet intended to deploy on the...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
30 August 2016
Procedural Posture
Appeal From a Decision of the Commissioner of Patents; Interlocutory Application in a Patent Proceeding / Third Amended Interlocutory Application for in House Counsel to Have Access to Unredacted Confidential Documents Proposed to Be Relied on at the Hearing
Outcome
Application granted subject to undertakings; costs reserved.
Legal Topics
['confidential Documents' 'confidentiality Undertakings' 'access by in House Counsel' 'patent Opposition Appeal' 'novelty' 'inventive Step' 'entitlement']
['practice and Procedure' 'intellectual Property' 'patents'] ['confidential Documents' 'confidentiality Undertakings' 'access by in House Counsel' 'patent Opposition Appeal' 'novelty' 'inventive Step' 'entitlement']

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Procedural Posture

Appeal From a Decision of the Commissioner of Patents; Interlocutory Application in a Patent Proceeding / Third Amended Interlocutory Application for in House Counsel to Have Access to Unredacted Confidential Documents Proposed to Be Relied on at the Hearing

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ["Whether Dr Judy Jarecki-Black, Merial's Global Head, Intellectual Property, should be permitted to receive unredacted copies of Intervet's confidential product development reports." "Whether the risk of inadvertent or accidental disclosure of Intervet's confidential information outweighed Merial's need to obtain informed instructions for the hearing."]

Ratio Decidendi

Intervet established that the product development reports were confidential and commercially sensitive, but the balance favoured disclosure to Dr Jarecki-Black because she was not involved in competitive decision-making, patent drafting or product development, had a legal role and experience with confidentiality regimes, had no history of misuse of confidential information, would execute a confidentiality undertaking, and Merial would give an undertaking to meet loss from improper disclosure. The risk of accidental or inadvertent disclosure was very low, while Merial had a strong need for its instructing representative at trial to understand documents Intervet intended to deploy on the...

Court Disposition

Application granted subject to undertakings; costs reserved.

Orders

  • ['The appellant undertakes to be liable for any direct or indirect loss, damage, costs or expenses to or suffered by the respondent in the event of disclosure of the confidential information in the documents referred to in order 3 by Dr Judy Jarecki-Black to any person other than a person subject to the...