South African Druggists Ltd. v Pfizer Inc. (612/87)
South African Druggists Ltd. v Pfizer Inc. (612/87) [1989] ZASCA 65 (26 May 1989)
The Supreme Court of Appeal held that the respondent had not derived adequate remuneration from the patent, as the delay in commercial exploitation was due to necessary development, testing, and regulatory approval—factors extraneous to the invention itself. The Court rejected the appellant's argument that the respondent recouped lost remuneration by increasing prices, finding that the recoupment reasoning is not a valid legal principle and that the prices for Feldene were competitive and not loaded. The respondent was not at fault for the lost time, and the invention did not suffer from inhe…
Source excerpt
- Patent Extension
- Adequate Remuneration
- Lost Time Principle
- Competitive Pricing
- Discretion Of Commissioner