Open AccessUS and EU legal and regulatory update
Author(s) -
J. D. Wilkinson
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of commercial biotechnology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.107
H-Index - 17
eISSN - 1478-565X
pISSN - 1462-8732
DOI - 10.5912/jcb173
Subject(s) - investor relations , european union , european court of justice , product (mathematics) , interpretation (philosophy) , law , economic justice , business , political science , law and economics , accounting , european union law , international trade , economics , strategic management , marketing , computer science , geometry , mathematics , programming language
The Advocate-General of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has delivered an important opinion that, if adopted by the judges of the court, would mean an extension in the availability of Supplementary Protection Certificates (SPCs) throughout the European Union (EU). In Case C-431/04 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (unreported opinion of 24th November, 2005), 1 the Advocate-General proposed a broad interpretation of the definition of the products for which an SPC could be obtained, arguing that a `combination medicinal product' comprising an active ingredient and an excipient could be considered as a product attracting SPC protection.