Pharmaceuticals - Corona vaccine patent: court postpones decision
As expected, the Düsseldorf Regional Court has postponed its ruling in the damages dispute between vaccine developer Curevac and its competitor Biontech over a coronavirus vaccine patent. The legal dispute will be suspended until the Federal Court of Justice has ruled on the legal validity of the disputed patent, the court announced on Wednesday. The regional court's ruling was originally scheduled for Thursday.
Last week, the Federal Patent Court declared the disputed Curevac patent invalid. It had thus upheld an action brought by Mainz-based competitor Biontech. Curevac then announced that it would appeal against the ruling at the Federal Court of Justice.
Curevac applied for the disputed patent in 2007 and was granted by the European Patent Office for 20 countries in 2010. It concerns a process that is intended to overcome the disadvantages of vaccines with the messenger molecule mRNA and increase efficacy.
In July 2022, Curevac sued Biontech and its US partner Pfizer for damages at the Düsseldorf Regional Court for alleged infringement of several of its patents. Curevac is demanding "fair compensation" for the infringement of its intellectual property rights, which Biontech and Pfizer are alleged to have used in the successful production of its coronavirus vaccine.
Biontech had rejected the allegations and filed a counterclaim with the Federal Patent Court in Munich. The company demanded that the disputed Curevac patent be declared null and void. It was not based on an invention.
Biontech had filed oppositions with patent authorities against four other disputed property rights from the action for damages or applied for them to be canceled. The district court had already suspended these proceedings at the end of September because it first wanted to await the decisions of the patent authorities.
Federal Patent Court on the Curavec proceedings in the patent dispute with Biontech
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- The legal dispute between Biontech and Curevac over a coronavirus vaccine patent is currently suspended at the Düsseldorf Regional Court, awaiting a ruling from the Federal Court of Justice concerning the patent's validity.
- The postponement of the Düsseldorf Regional Court's decision was announced after the Federal Patent Court in Munich declared the Curevac patent, which concerns an mRNA vaccine process, invalid last week.
- Curevac, based in Rhineland-Palatinate, then announced its intention to appeal the ruling at the Federal Court of Justice in Germany.
- Biontech, located in North Rhine-Westphalia, had filed a counterclaim with the Federal Patent Court, arguing that the Curevac patent was not based on an invention.
- The coronavirus vaccine dispute between Biontech and Curevac has significant implications for the pharma industry and research, as both companies are developing vaccines and treatments for various diseases.
- Pfizer, Biontech's US partner, is also involved in the legal dispute, as Curevac accuses the companies of infringing upon several patents in the successful production of its coronavirus vaccine.
- In response to the accusations, Biontech had filed oppositions with patent authorities against four other disputed property rights from Curevac or applied for their cancellation.
- The patent dispute between Biontech and Curevac is not the only legal challenge facing the German pharma industry; CureVac's rival, Baden-Württemberg-based CureVac, is also involved in multiple court cases related to its coronavirus vaccine technology.
Source: www.stern.de
