Judgment_paragraph 26 · Georgetown University and Others v Comptroller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks (C-422/10)

26Moreover, as is apparent in particular from subparagraphs 4 and 5 of paragraph 28 of the explanatory memorandum to the proposal for Council Regulation (EEC) of 11 April 1990 concerning the creation of a supplementary protection certificate for medicinal products (COM(90) 101 final) (‘the explanatory memorandum’), the protection conferred by a SPC is largely intended to cover the cost of research leading to the discovery of new ‘products’, that term being used as a common denominator covering the three different types of patent which can confer entitlement to a SPC. Further, if the conditions laid down in Regulation No 469/2009 are met, even a patent protecting the process by which a ‘product’ within the meaning of the regulation is obtained may, in accordance with Article 2 of the regulation, enable a SPC to be granted and, in that case, in accordance with Article 5 of the regulation and as stated at paragraph 44 of the explanatory memorandum, the SPC confers the same rights as conferred by the basic patent as regards the process by which the product is obtained, and, if the law applicable to that patent so provides, the protection of the process by which the product is obtained will be extended to the product thus obtained (Case C-322/10 Medeva [2011] ECR I-12051, paragraph 32).

Georgetown University and Others v Comptroller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks (C-422/10)

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