News and Events 2009

Advertising Pharmaceutical Products - December 2009

To advertise a pharmaceutical product or medicine in the UK, the medicine must have a valid marketing authorisation and there are national and European legislations that have to be adhered to regarding the contents of advertisements and promotions in relation to the prescription, supply, sale and/or consumption of medicinal products. More

Patent Infringement – Patent Proceedings – Court of Appeal Decision - November 2009

In Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd v Premium Aircraft Interiors UK Ltd [2009], the Court of Appeal, held that the that the judge had erred when he dismissed the claimant’s, Virgin Atlantic Airways, claim for patent infringement by Premium Aircraft Interiors UK regarding a new aircraft seating system. It was held by the Court of Appeal that the claimant's patent had been infringed by the defendant's seating system and the claimant’s patent was valid and subsisting.

When the claimant brought a claim for infringement of its European Patent EP (UK) 1,495,908, in relation to its novel seat and seating system for its aircraft and a claim for unregistered design rights in respect of parts of that seating system, the claim was dismissed. The claimant appealed to the Court of Appeal. More

Informed Consent- October 2009

Under the Informed Consent procedure, a pharmaceutical or biotech company (‘Company A’) is able to grant a another company (‘Company B’), a ‘piggy back’ licence to obtain a second ‘duplicate’ Marketing Authorisation by relying on Company A’s existing Marketing Authorisation documentation. The Informed Consent procedure applies to all national Marketing Authorisation applications under Article 10c of Directive 2001/83/EC (as amended). This article concentrates primarily on using the Informed Consent procedure in the United Kingdom (‘UK’) to obtain a Marketing Authorisation for an existing medicinal product. More

Commercial – Pharmaceuticals – Patent – Failed Appeal - July 2009

An appeal by three companies, (Arrow Generics, Generics UK and Teva UK) has recently failed. Their appeal to have a high court ruling overturned has been rejected.

The decision in question stated that the key claims of a patent (EP (UK) 0347066) which protects Lundbeck’s Cipralex (Escitalopram) Antidepressant are not invalid for lack of novelty or obviousness. The three companies in question believed that they were. In addition, the Court of Appeal also overturned a high court ruling from May 2007 that stated that two of the patent’s claims were invalid for insufficiency.

The Court of Appeal panel was lead by Lord Hoffmann. The panel overturned the high court’s ruling of insufficiency. More

Employment Law – Controlling Shareholder and Director Treated as an Employee? Employee Contract of Employment - April 2009

In the recent case of Neufeld and another v Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform [2009] the court of appeal clarified the approach that should be adopted by employment tribunals when determining whether an 'employee' of an insolvent company enjoys the protection given under s.182 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (“the Act”) in circumstances where the 'employee' was the controlling shareholder and a director of the company.

The claimants in this case were involved with a number of companies that went into insolvency. In each case, the only issue to be determined was whether each claimant was to be considered an 'employee' of the failed company in question.

In the event that the claimant was held to be an ‘employee’ they enjoyed the protection provided by s.182 of the Act. However, in each case under appeal the claimant in question was also the controlling shareholder and a director of the company. The Secretary of State requested the court to clarify the approach that should be adopted by employment tribunals when determining cases of these circumstances.

A number of issues arose:

§ Whether a controlling shareholder and director of a trading company could become an employee of the trading company by entering a contract of employment; and

§ If so, whether any guidelines existed to assist tribunals in deciding if such an individual had become an employee.

The appeals were dismissed.

It was held that, in principle, there was no reason why an individual who was both a shareholder and a director of a company could not simultaneously be an employee of the company under a contract of employment.

Furthermore, it was also held that, in principle, there was no reason why an individual whose shareholding in the company gave him control of it, even 100% control, could also not be an employee of the company under a contract of employment. Therefore, an individual whose economic interest in a company meant that he was in practice properly to be regarded as the 'owner' could also be an employee of that company. More

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RT Coopers News

RT Coopers has launched a website dedicated to Intellectual Property Law. Visit www.rtcoopersiplaw.com

December 2009

New Telephone Number - August 2009

From Monday 24 August 2009, our main telephone number has been changed to: +44 (0)207 488 9947

For the time being you may still contact us on:

Telephone Number: +44 (0)207 084 5739

Fax Number: +44 (0)207 481 4197

Thank you for your continued custom and if there are any queries, please do not hesitate to contact us.

New Contact Numbers - May 2009

From Monday 1 June 2009, our contact numbers will change to:

Telephone Number: +44 (0)207 084 5739

Fax Number: +44 (0)207 481 4197

Our office address will remain as Telfords Yard, 6 -8 The Highway, London E1W 2BS. E-mail and website addresses will remain unchanged.

Thank you for your continued custom and if there are any queries, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Launch of New Blog on Compromise Agreements - April 2009

RT Coopers recently launched a blog discussing the legal issues in connection with compromise agreements. It is a very comprehensive blog and contains a lot of useful information.

Visit http://www.adviceoncompromiseagreements.com/ for more details.

TV Appearance - April 2009

Recently our trainee solicitor, Matthew Schrader, made a television appearance on behalf of the firm. Matthew was invited onto a legal affairs programme on a satelllite TV channel available on Sky to discuss various aspects of media and entertainment law. He discussed how musicians’ intellectual property rights could be protected in the UK, and provided a number of practical tips on the sort of issues that musicians should be made aware of when becoming contractually involved with record labels or publishing companies.

New Niche Employment Law Website Launched - Compromise Agreements - February 2009

RT Coopers has recently launched the first of its niche websites. This website provides information on Compromise Agreements only and you can visit this website at http://www.employmentlawyersinlondon.com/. There is also a video explaining the standard terms of a Compromise Agreement at http://www.employmentlawyersinlondon.com/video.php and a blog that gives further information on Compromise Agreements at http://www.adviceoncompromiseagreements.com/.

New Websites and Blogs for 2009 - January 2009

Happy New Year to you.

We have a number of websites and blogs to be launched shortly in relation to the legal service we offer in the UK. The purpose behind them is to make it easier for you to find niche information. Over the last two years, a number of our clients have been asking us for legal templates that they can use over and over again. We have been working on our online shop and this will be launched very soon. We will let you know as soon as it is launched and keep you posted on the launch dates for our new websites and blogs.

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