NIPC Law

Jane Lambert Patents Court (Mr Justice Arnold)  Illumina, Inc and another v TDL Genetics Ltd and others [2019] EWHC 1497 (Pat) (17 June 2019) This was an action for patent infringement with a counterclaim for revocation on grounds of obviousness and insufficiency. The patent in suit was European patent EP1524321 for Non-invasive detection of fetal genetic traits  which was granted to the second claimant. The first claimant was the second claimant's exclusive licensee.  The third defendant has developed a non-invasive prenatal test called "Harmony" which the first defendant offers to its patients.  The claimants allege that it infringes their patent.  The action and counterclaim came on before Mr Justice Arnold. The Patent The invention for which the patent was granted reads as follows: "Blood plasma of a pregnant woman contains both fetal and maternal circulatory extracellular DNA, the latter forming the major part (generally ...

Jane Lambert Patents Court (Mr Justice  Mann)    Illumina, Inc. and Another v TDL Genetics Ltd and Others [2019] EWHC 79 (Pat) (22 Jan 2019)   CPR 31.6 requires a party to litigation to disclose to his or her opponent not only the documents on which he or she relies but also the documents which adversely affect his or her own case or that of another party, support the case of another party or any document that he or she is obliged to disclose by a relevant practice direction.  Sometimes such a document contains a trade secret or other confidential information .  When that happens the court is presented with what Lord Justice Buckley called in Warner-Lambert Co. v Glaxo Laboratories Ltd.  [1975] RPC 354, 356 "a balance or conflict of expedients." In that case, the defendant asserted that the documents that the claimant sought to inspect contained "secrets of considerable commercial value".  The learned lord justice continued: ...