Overview

On 18 October 2011, the Court of Justice of the EU handed down its long-awaited decision in Oliver Brüstle v Greenpeace. To the dismay of the biotech industry in the EU, the ECJ took a broad view of the scope of the exclusion from patentability for "uses of human embryos for industrial or commercial purposes" on the legal protection of biotechnological inventions. The decision effectively prohibits the patenting of any inventions derived from human embryos.

In this briefing, Eversheds detail the full background to the case, the CJEU's decision and its implications.

Click 'View Briefing' to read on.