A Question Of Timing: Negative Declaratory Relief In Pharmaceutical IP Practice

Istanbul's First Instance IP Court recently dismissed a negative declaratory action (the "Case") against our client citing plaintiff's lack of standing because the pharmaceutical at issue was unlicensed as of the when the action was started. The ruling is noteworthy because it appears to confirm the precedential force of similar Court of Appeal decisions.

For pharmaceuticals in particular, negative declaratory relief is considered as an effective market-clearing tool. Anyone with an interest in a pharmaceutical product sufficient to confer standing, may petition a competent court for a declaratory ruling that current and future use of the product is, or, as the case may be, is not, infringement. These actions are initiated both by pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical entities as a means of avoiding prospective infringement actions and, concomitantly, of securing rights before entering a market.