Patent decision

BL number
O/620/18
Concerning rights in
EP(UK) 1059899 B1
Hearing Officer
Mr S Probert
Decision date
5 October 2018
Person(s) or Company(s) involved
Haddenham Healthcare Ltd v Pawel Sawlewicz
Provisions discussed
Sect 71, Sect 72
Keywords
Infringement, Revocation
Related Decisions
None

Summary

The decision concerns consolidated applications for revocation and a declaration of non-infringement of the patent. The patent relates to an auxiliary device for putting on therapeutic compression stockings.

The key issue, both in relation to revocation and infringement, was whether the devices can be considered to have “a pocket at one end’ - as required by claim 1. The claimant argued that it was in a squeeze between validity and infringement, depending on the size of the pocket, but the Hearing Officer found that the prior art devices did not have a pocket at one end, and the claimant’s product (the Gus Comfort) did. The Hearing Officer also found that the Gus Comfort included all the other elements of claim 1.

Consequently the patent was not revoked, and the Hearing Officer did not make a declaration of non-infringement. Costs were awarded to the patent proprietor.

Full decision O/620/18 PDF document342Kb