Court of Appeal can overrule itself to follow the EPO: UK adopts EPO stance on second medical use claims

Abstract

The UK Court of Appeal has held that a patent may be granted for the use of a pharmaceutical in the manufacture of a medicament where the novelty lies in a new dosing regime. The Court of Appeal can overrule earlier Court of Appeal decisions in order to follow the settled practice of the EPO. An invention that was obvious before the priority date can become non-obvious at the priority date.