The supplementary protection certificate (SPC) prolongs the term of patents for pharmaceutical products for a maximum of five additional years. The SPC's legal bases are two European SPC Regulations and the SPC is based upon European or national patents. SPCs protect some of the most valuable products in the pharmaceutical industry where each day of additional protection may be worth millions of Euros. Despite the economic relevance SPCs have obtained in recent years, there exists only limited detailed literature on the subject. German jurisprudence on SPCs is of special importance, as this has often been the basis for decisions of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and the German market is one of the leading markets for pharmaceuticals and thus for SPCs. This book is addressed to patent attorneys - in particular in-house and external - working for pharmaceutical companies, and attorneys-at-law specialising in patent law, especially in Europe but essentially worldwide.


Marco Stief is Director Legal in the Legal Department of Fresenius, Bad Homburg. Dirk Bühler is patent attorney and partner in Maiwald Patentanwälte in Munich.