AstraZeneca AB v. EG S.p.A, District Court of Turin (Tribunale di Torino), 14 February 2011

The Court of Turin held that Article 68 (1 bis) of the Italian IP Code, which was introduced by Legislative Decree 131 of 13 August 2010, establishing that ‘Without prejudice to the provision of paragraph 1, companies intending to manufacture pharmaceutical specialties outside patent protection may commence the procedure of registration of the product containing the active ingredient one year prior to the expiry of the supplementary protection or, in absence, the patent claiming the active principle, including any applicable extension’ does not contravene Article 10 of Directive 2001/83/EC.

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