In the course of a challenge to a patent, the patentee sought to amend the patent.
Held: He was not obliged when doing so to disclose documents in a manner which would allow their use on a wider basis than for the consideration of the amendment application. Revealing such documents beyond what was required to show the good faith of the assertion of privilege would lead to the loss of that privilege abroad. There was no obligation in modern litigation on a patentee to waive privilege in respect of all such documents. The decision whether to waive privilege was the patentee’s, and the court’s job was then to decide whether in fact privilege is waived.
Citations:
Times 05-Dec-2000
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Intellectual Property, Litigation Practice
Updated: 11 May 2022; Ref: scu.84508