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ARTICLE · 18 JULY 2012

Impacts Of The Amazon.Com Decisions On Medical Use Claims In Canada

Gowling WLG
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Methods of medical treatment and surgery are not statutory subject matter in Canada. Medical use claims, however, (similar to the "Swiss-type" claims of Europe) are permitted as long as they do not equate to medical or surgical methods (which involve the professional skill of a medical practitioner) and that they satisfy all the other statutory requirements (novel, inventive, useful and sufficiently disclosed).

CanadaIntellectual Property
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Impacts Of The Amazon.Com Decisions On Medical Use Claims In Canada

Methods of medical treatment and surgery are not statutory subject matter in Canada. Medical use claims, however, (similar to the "Swiss-type" claims of Europe) are permitted as long as they do not equate to medical or surgical methods (which involve the professional skill of a medical practitioner) and that they satisfy all the other statutory requirements (novel, inventive, useful and sufficiently disclosed).

This has been the position in Canada following the decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in the Tennessee Eastman (1972) case and its subsequent decisions in Shell Oil (1982) and Apotex v. Wellcome Foundation (2002).

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