Apotex Europe Ltd & Ors v Beecham Group Plc & Anor [2003] EWHC 1395 (Pat) (06 June 2003)

Apotex Europe Ltd & Ors v Beecham Group Plc & Anor [2003] EWHC 1395 (Pat) (06 June 2003)

The application to have the declarations of non-infringement tried with the existing actions was refused because GSK could not fairly be required to prepare for trial of the declarations on the expedited timetable, Apotex had not explained the delay in making the application, and the issues were already inherent in the upcoming trial. The risk of unfairness to GSK outweighed any benefit to Apotex.

Citation
[2003] EWHC 1395 (Pat)
Parties
Claimant: Apotex Europe Limited; Claimant: Neolab Limited; Claimant: Waymade Healthcare PLC; Defendant: Beecham Group PLC; Defendant: SmithKline Beecham PLC
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
06 June 2003
Procedural Posture
Application Within Patent Proceedings / Interlocutory Application for Joint Trial of Declaration of Non Infringement With Existing Actions
Outcome
Application refused
Legal Topics
Declaration of Non Infringement, Section 71 Patents Act 1977, Case Management, Joinder of Proceedings, Patent Infringement, Patent Validity
Intellectual Property Patents Declaration of Non Infringement Section 71 Patents Act 1977 Case Management Joinder of Proceedings Patent Infringement Patent Validity

Case Brief

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

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Parties

Apotex Europe Limited

Claimant

Neolab Limited

Claimant

Waymade Healthcare PLC

Claimant

Beecham Group PLC

Defendant

SmithKline Beecham PLC

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Application Within Patent Proceedings / Interlocutory Application for Joint Trial of Declaration of Non Infringement With Existing Actions

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the application for declarations of non-infringement should be tried together with existing revocation and infringement actions
  2. 2 Whether the declarations sought are hypothetical and within the scope of section 71 of the Patents Act 1977
  3. 3 Whether it is fair and practicable to require the defendants to be ready for trial of the declarations on the expedited timetable

Ratio Decidendi

The application to have the declarations of non-infringement tried with the existing actions was refused because GSK could not fairly be required to prepare for trial of the declarations on the expedited timetable, Apotex had not explained the delay in making the application, and the issues were already inherent in the upcoming trial. The risk of unfairness to GSK outweighed any benefit to Apotex.

Court Disposition

Application refused

Orders

  • Application to have the declarations of non-infringement tried with the other actions is refused