Round-up of English patent litigation in 2022

Abstract

... After the bumper year of 2021 in terms of the number of patent trials in the English courts, 2022 saw a slight easing off in the level of trial activity, at least in terms of determinations as to patent validity and infringement.1 2022 saw, at first instance, in inter partes proceedings in which patent infringement and/or validity was in issue, 16 final decisions in the Patents Court and one in the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court concerning in total 27 patents. The validity of all but two2 of these patents was challenged, successfully so in respect of 18 of them, but infringement was in issue in respect of only 15 patents, of which only five were held to be not infringed at all. Of the 18 patents held to be invalid, 15 were held to be obvious,3 one anticipated and one insufficient. The patentee prevailed, in whole or in part, in relation to seven patents, all of which survived challenges to validity and all of which were held to be infringed, at least in relation to some of the products or processes in issue, apart from four where infringement was admitted.