Overview

Both the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) and the European Patent Office (EPO) have recently made rare decisions on the application of Article 52 of the European Patent Convention (EPC), which excludes from patentability a method of treatment of the human or animal body by surgery or therapy, or a method of diagnosis practiced on the human or animal body.

The rationale behind these exclusions is to ensure that doctors and vets can treat their patients without fear of infringing any patents.

This paper by Field Fisher Waterhouse reviews two recent cases and looks at the implications.

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