UK experimental use exemptions: part 1—the original

Section 60(1) of the Patents Act 1977 (UKPA) provides that use in the UK of a product or process falling within the scope of the claims of a granted patent, without the consent of the proprietor, is an infringement of those claims. However, Section 60 also provides that in certain circumstances, including, and of particular relevance to the life sciences sector, experimental uses of the invention—permitted acts that would otherwise constitute an infringement.