In 2019, the CJEU clarified the EU's position on
compensation for wrongly restrained defendants in IP enforcement
proceedings. What are the implications of this decision and how
does it compare with recent trends in England and
Australia?
Provisional measures in intellectual property enforcement and,
in particular, patent enforcement in the pharmaceutical industry,
have always required a careful balancing act between the interests
of the rights-holder and the interests of the alleged
infringer.
This is because, at an early stage in proceedings, the court is
required to consider restraining an alleged infringer from certain
conduct (and, in many cases, the launch of a new product or
process) before it has had the opportunity to give careful
consideration to the validity of the patent and whether such
conduct actually infringes it.
