An introduction to patent settlement agreements and pay-for-delay

Today we kick off our new podcast series, in which we will be exploring the competition law issues associated with patent settlement agreements.  Following the Court of Justice’s judgment in Generics UK (‘Paroxetine’) last year and in eager anticipation of its ruling in Lundbeck (‘Citalopram’) later this month, we will be examining the current status of the law and highlighting practical tips for our listeners to be aware of.In this first episode, competition law expert Sophie Lawrance introduces the competition law treatment of patent settlement agreements and so-called pay-for-delay agreements. Sophie starts by laying the groundwork, beginning with the definition of patent settlements used in the European Commission’s 2009 Pharmaceutical Sector Enquiry Final Report, and coming up to date with the most recent case law. (As with the rest of this series, we will focus on the EU principles, which at this stage are equally applicable in the UK, post-Brexit.)The series will continue throughout this week, with experts from our competition litigation, patent litigation and commercial & IP transactional teams sharing their insights on some of the most important aspects of patent settlement agreements, including value transfers, no-challenge clauses and practical implications for those drafting patent settlement agreements.Watch the animated version of this episode, which include a useful example, here on our Bristows Law Firm YouTube channel.