10 April 2025NewsEuropeIna vom Feld and Maximilian Kücking

Patent pledges in global crises: Why Moderna prevailed over Pfizer/BioNTech

The Düsseldorf court’s decision offers an instructive perspective on the legal nature of patent pledges as well as a reminder that it is risky to rely solely on informal public declarations, say Ina vom Feld and Maximilian Kücking of Herbert Smith Freehills.

Already registered?

Login to your account

To request a FREE 2-week trial subscription, please signup.
NOTE - this can take up to 48hrs to be approved.

Two Weeks Free Trial

For multi-user price options, or to check if your company has an existing subscription that we can add you to for FREE, please email Adrian Tapping at atapping@newtonmedia.co.uk


More on this story

Europe
16 January 2026   A first-of-its-kind project by sister title WIPR aims to highlight the world’s leading in-house intellectual property counsel—and it needs your help.
Europe
15 January 2026   Case between AorticLab and Emboline has implications for UPC playbook in terms of requesting security for costs, and conditional counterclaims.
Europe
13 January 2026   As the drug moves deeper into its post-exclusivity phase, a Nordic decision highlights the value of secondary patents, presumption of validity, and interim relief when a drug's core patents expire.