Mastering Second Medical Use Patents - Strategies, Case Law & Practical Insights

Introduction

Second medical use patents are one of the most fast-moving and high-stakes areas of European patent law, where major disputes are constantly redefining what counts as truly novel and protectable in therapeutic innovation.

In this new virtual classroom seminar, you will gain a clear, practical understanding of how the European Patent Office (‘EPO’) is evolving its approach to medical use inventions. The session will break down the latest case law, including decisions relating to narrow therapeutic effects, dosage regimes and selection inventions and why mechanism of action alone does not anticipate therapeutic use.

You will walk away from the session with actionable drafting strategies, solutions to real-world challenges and honest insights into when meaningful protection is and is not achievable. This is your chance to sharpen your approach and avoid missing valuable patent opportunities in a complex, shifting legal landscape.

Register today to strengthen your expertise in second medical use patents and stay ahead of the curve, not only at the EPO but with key perspectives from other offices such as the USPTO.

What You Will Learn

The session will cover the following:

• How does the EPO treat medical uses of substances, formulations and devices?
• Understanding what constitutes a ‘new use’ for novelty purposes
• Protecting a new indication, patient group, dose, formulation or route of administration
• Protecting a new mechanism of action
• Protecting a combination therapy
• Does ‘treatment’ include alleviating symptoms, prophylaxis, diagnosis, cosmetic enhancements, performance improvements?
• Medical methods with both therapeutic and non-therapeutic uses
• Clinical trial protocols as prior art
• Contrasting EPO, US and other approaches

Recording of live sessions: Soon after the Learn Live session has taken place you will be able to go back and access the recording - should you wish to revisit the material discussed.