Biogen v. medeva — the highest court in the UK delivers judgement

Abstract

The highest court in the United Kingdom, the House of Lords, delivered its judgement in the case of Biogen v. Medeva on 31 October 1996. This case represented the first time that the House of Lords has considered a genetic engineering patent. The House of Lords had been expected to resolve a number of key issues of importance to biotechnology patents, including obviousness, insufficiency and width of patent claims. In this report, the authors review the House of Lords' decision and its implications.