22.2.2014

Official Journal of the European Union

C 52/20

(Case C-484/12) (<span class="super">1</span>)

(Medicinal products for human use - Supplementary protection certificate - Regulation (EC) No 469/2009 - Article 3 - Conditions for obtaining such a certificate - Whether it is possible to obtain a number of supplementary protection certificates on the basis of just one patent)

2014/C 52/33

Language of the case: Dutch

Referring court

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Georgetown University

Defendant: Octrooicentrum Nederland, operating under the name NL Octrooicentrum

Re:

Request for a preliminary ruling — Rechtbank’s-Gravenhage (Netherlands) — Interpretation of Articles 3(c) and 14(b) of Regulation (EC) No 469/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 May 2009 concerning the supplementary protection certificate for medicinal products (OJ 2009 L 152, p. 1) — Conditions under which a certificate may be obtained — Basic patent in force covering several products — Whether or not there is a right to a certificate for each product.

Operative part of the judgment

In circumstances such as those in the main proceedings, where, on the basis of a basic patent and a marketing authorisation for a medicinal product consisting of a combination of several active ingredients, the patent holder has already obtained a supplementary protection certificate for that combination of active ingredients, protected by that patent within the meaning of Article 3(a) of Regulation (EC) No 469/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 May 2009 concerning the supplementary protection certificate for medicinal products, Article 3(c) of that regulation must be interpreted as not precluding the proprietor from also obtaining a supplementary protection certificate for one of those active ingredients which, individually, is also protected as such by that patent.

*

Language of the case: Dutch.

ECLI:EU:C:2014:140