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Burrell TD Burrells South African Patent and Design Law 3ed Durban LexisNexis 1999
Cases referred to in judgment
South Africa
Aktiebolaget Hässle and another v Triomed (Pty) Ltd [2002] 4 All SA 138
(2003 (1) SA 155) (SCA) Confirmed
306
BM Group (Pty) Ltd v Beecham Group Ltd 1978 BP 373 (T) Referred to
315
Cipla Medpro (Pty) Ltd v Aventis Pharma SA (Treatment Action Campaign as
amicus curiae) and Related Appeal [2012] JOL 29165 (2013 (4) SA 579)
(SCA) Referred to
305
Clipsal Australia (Pty) Ltd and another v Trust Electrical Wholesalers and
another [2007] 4 All SA 1082 (2009 (3) SA 292) (SCA) Referred to
316
EnsignBickford (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd and others v AECI Explosives and
Chemicals Ltd [1998] 4 All SA 453 (1999 (1) SA 70) (SCA) Referred to
313
Gentiruco AG v Firestone SA (Pty) Ltd [1972] 1 All SA 201 (1972 (1) SA 589)
(A) Applied
305
Letraset Ltd v Helios Ltd [1972] 3 All SA 191 (1972 (3) SA 245) (A)
Referred to
310
Multotec Manufacturing (Pty) Ltd v Screenex Wire Weaving Manufacturers
(Pty) Ltd [1983] 1 All SA 314 (1983 (1) SA 709) (A) Confirmed
306
Roman Roller CC and another v Speedmark Holdings (Pty) Ltd
1996 (1) SA 405 (A) Referred to
315
Sappi Fine Papers (Pty) Ltd v ICI Canada Inc (formerly CIL INC)
1992 (3) SA 306 (A) Referred to
306
Page 304 of [2014] 4 All SA 302 (SCA)
Australia
Generic Health (Pty) Ltd v Bayer Pharma AG [2014] FCAFC 73 Referred to
United Kingdom
305
Buhler AG v FP Spomax SA [2008] EWHC 823 (Ch) Referred to
316
Catnic Components Ltd and another v Hill & Smith Ltd [1982] RPC 182 (HL)
Approved
306
Dyson Technology Ltd v Samsung Gwangju Electronics Co Ltd [2009] EWHC
55 (Pat) Referred to
316
Gedeon Richter plc v Bayer Pharma AG [2012] EWCA Civ 235 Referred to
305
Gedeon Richter plc v Bayer Schering Pharma AG [2011] EWHC 583 (Pat)
Referred to
305
Napp Pharmaceutical Holdings Ltd v Ratiopharm GmbH and Napp
Pharmaceutical Holdings Ltd v Sandoz Ltd [2009] EWCA Civ 252 Referred
to
317
Judgment
BRAND JA:
[1] This is an appeal against the judgment and order of Pretorius J sitting as the Commissioner of Patents. The
first respondent, Bayer Pharma Aktiengesellschaft, formerly known as Schering AG, is the patentee of South
African Patent No 2004/4083 for an invention entitled "Pharmaceutical combination of ethinylestradiol [EE] and
drospirenone [DSP] for use as a contraceptive" (the "2004 patent"). The second respondent, Bayer (Pty) Ltd,
has been licenced to use the invention in South Africa. They will jointly be referred to as "Bayer". The
appellant, Pharma Dynamics (Pty) Ltd ("Pharma") is a local distributor of generic pharmaceuticals.
[2] As predicted by the concise description in its title, the 2004 patent concerns a female combination oral
contraceptive containing the active pharmaceutical ingredients, DSP and EE. It was filed in 2004 in terms of
section 37 of the Patents Act 57 of 1978 (the "Act") as a socalled "divisional patent", based on patent
2002/1668, as its "parent patent". By virtue of the provisions of section 37, the priority date of the 2004
patent was antedated to 31 August 1999, which is the priority date of its 2002 parent patent.
[3] In March 2011, Pharma obtained approval from the Medical Control Council to import and sell an oral