Theory and practice of intellectual property
№ 6 / 2022
ISSN (Print) 2308-0361
ISSN (Online) 2519-2744
PDF (Ukrainian)DOI: https://doi.org/10.33731/62022.274630
Published 2022-12-16
Aspects of the examination of patents relating to medical in-
ventions
Oleksandr Zhikharev
Ukraine
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7433-5979
Abstract
The article contains an analysis of approaches to the examination of selection inventions for medicines. Selection inventions are inventions created in the process of selecting an optimal compound from a group of known compounds or in the process of selecting parameters from an interval of known parameters related to the compounds. Selection inventions must demonstrate an unexpected result that is unknown in the prior art. Selection inventions can potentially be a means of obtaining a monopoly on an already known compound or a medicinal product containing that compound, or a method of producing the compound, etc. Therefore, the examination of criteria of patentability for selection inventions is important for maintaining the balance of interests between the patent holder and the society. The article contains information about the difference between the examination of inventions in the patent office and the forensic examination. The analysis of approaches to examination includes the law of Ukraine for invention, which provides for the means of combating evergreen (secondary) patents, as well as the opinion of experts of the Patent Office about a patentability of selection inventions. The article contains the approaches to examination according to the regulations of the European Patent Office and other national jurisdictions, as well as the opinion of forensic scientists practising in this field. A practice example of examination of a selection invention is given. The summary includes recommendations on approaches to the examination of selection inventions: the subject of the selection invention should not have been specifically disclosed earlier; the subject should exhibit previously unknown and unexpected advantages; the description of the selection invention should contain reasonable evidence of non-obviousness of the selection; the selection invention should meet the condition of inventive step according to the general requirements as for all the inventions. If unexpected advantages of existing products were deemed patentable under the applicable law, the patentability of a selection could be considered when an inventive step is present.
Keywords: selection invention; medical inventions; examination; patentability criteria
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