Squatters’ rights: the problem with third party SPCs

Late in December 2015 the European Commission issued an invitation to tender inviting proposals for a study on the supplementary protection certificate (SPC) regulations, by which de facto patent term extension of up to five years can be secured in the EU for medicinal products and plant protection products once these receive a marketing authorisation (MA). The tender closed in February 2016 but it has been reported that the tender will be relaunched as none of the bids that were received met its requirements.