Apotex Europe Ltd & Ors v Beecham Group Plc & Anor

Apotex Europe Ltd & Ors v Beecham Group Plc & Anor

The application for joinder of the declarations of non-infringement to the expedited trial is refused because GSK cannot be ready for trial of the declarations, the application was made late without explanation, and most issues are already inherent in the main trial. Forcing joinder would be unfair to GSK.

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 for Declarations of Non Infringement / Ruling on Joinder and Timing of Trial
Outcome
application refused
Legal Topics
Declarations of Non Infringement, Patent Infringement, Joinder of Proceedings, Expedited Trial, Section 71 Patents Act 1977
Intellectual Property Patents Declarations of Non Infringement Patent Infringement Joinder of Proceedings Expedited Trial Section 71 Patents Act 1977

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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 for Declarations of Non Infringement / Ruling on Joinder and Timing of Trial

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the application for declarations of non-infringement should be heard together with two other proceedings
  2. 2 Whether section 71 Patents Act 1977 allows hypothetical declarations
  3. 3 Whether the declarations sought are hypothetical

Ratio Decidendi

The application for joinder of the declarations of non-infringement to the expedited trial is refused because GSK cannot be ready for trial of the declarations, the application was made late without explanation, and most issues are already inherent in the main trial. Forcing joinder would be unfair to GSK.

Court Disposition

application refused