Patents expiry periods

Patent expiry periods of newly approved NAEs determine how companies manage the product life cycle (Fig. 1). 

Although it was open to Member States to decide not to allow an exclusivity period to run beyond patent expiry. 

Within twelve months of the initial applieatiotr, a full patent specification shotrld be sent to the British Patent Office and to Paterrt Offices in other coirrrtries where patents are required. This work wiU normally be done by a patent agent, who will use contacts abroad and wiU arrange for all of the necessary translatiorrs to be made. It is important to brief the patent agent several months before the expiry of the twelve month period, as there is a considerable amount of preparatory work to be done. 

For example, after the expiry of the basic patent for a chemical, generics companies that can successfully challenge some of the secondary patents can prevent other generic companies from entering the market for a limited period of time, gaining substantial additional value-added. 

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