Law firm toasts Appeal double

The London IP office of global lawyers, Simmons & Simmons, released details this week of two recent victories at the UK Court of Appeal.

Acting for Conor Medsystems Inc, Simmons partner, Rowan Freeland, learned on 16 January that he and his assistant, Paul Inman, had successfully upheld a High Court ruling revoking an Angiotech patent for a drug-coated medical stent. Freeland and Inman had contended that the UK portion of Angiotech’s patent infringed upon a similar device by Conor. The stent is designed to be fitted within a patient’s vascular system, where it releases therapeutic drugs for the treatment of heart disease.

On 23 January, Will Cook, assisted by Sara de Sousa, validated Ferag AG’s patent for a print-finishing system designed to cut newspapers and magazines. The Appeal Court found that Ferag’s system – involving multiple knives working to keep pace with printing and binding machines – had been infringed by Muller Martini’s NewsTrim device. Lords Justices Mummery, Tuckey and Jacob ruled that Ferag’s innovation was neither obvious, nor anticipated by prior art, which had featured single-knife methods. Overturning a Patent Court ruling of 22 February last year, their verdict stated: ‘…the person skilled in the art would need a lot of hindsight to start from the prior art and make such variations as would bring it within [Ferag’s claims].’

Simmons & Simmons IP practice chief, Richard Binns, said: ‘Investment in research and development across all industry sectors can only mean that patent litigation and regulation will become more significant as competition increases.’