No SPC crown for Royalty Pharma

In its newest interpretation of article 3(a) of the EU’s Regulation on supplementary protection certificates (SPCs) in Royalty Pharma (C-650/17), the  Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) confirmed that active ingredients covered by a functional definition in the claims, but that were developed only after the filing date of the basic patent following an independent inventive step, are not protected by that basic patent.