Merck Sharp & Dohme de España, S.A. v. Química Sintética, S.A. & Chemo Ibérica, S.A., Supreme Court (Civil Chamber, 1st Section), Spain, 2 March 2016, Docket No. 2206/2013

The Spanish Supreme Court definitely ruled in the long-term patent litigation initiated back in 2005 by MSD against the companies Química Sintética and Chemo Ibérica in relation to the first’s patented process for the production of Losartan.

The Supreme Court, in its Judgment of 2 March 2016, endorsed the previous findings by the Court of Appeals of Madrid in the sense that the alleged importation of Losartan manufactured according to the patented process had been lately brought to the proceedings as a ground for MSD’s infringement complaint and entailed a modification thereof (mutatio libelli) which, as such, could not be accepted. As a consequence, the Supreme Court confirmed the correctness of the earlier appeal Judgment when establishing the lack of infringement only in respect of the manufacture of Losartan and its subsequent commercialization, which had been the infringing activities initially attributed to the defendants.

Read the entire summary (in English) here.
Read the judgment (in Spanish here).

Head note: Luis Fernández-Novoa, HOYNG ROKH MONEGIER