On 21 October, 2004, the House of Lords handed down its opinion in the patents case Kirin-Amgen v Hoechst Marion Roussel [2004]. The case was the first opportunity for the House to consider the critical question of the extent of protection conferred by a patent under the provisions of the European Patent Convention (EPC), which were incorporated into UK law by the Patents Act 1977.
Lord Hoffmann gave the only fully reasoned judgment. From a theoretical point of view, the decision is something of a tour de force. Whether it proves to be of much practical assistance to patent lawyers is another matter: Lord Hoffmann’s message appears to be “read the claims realistically”.
