Patent

The time had come to recognise that, in cases concerning infringements of intellectual property rights, the criteria to be applied when deciding whether or not to grant an injunction were those laid down by Art 3(2) of the Enforcement Directive. Art 3(2) of the Enforcement Directive permitted and required the court to refuse to grant an injunction where it would be disproportionate to grant one even having regard to the requirements of efficacy and dissuasiveness. Where the right sought to be enforced by the injunction was a patent, however, the court had to be very cautious before making an order which was tantamount to a compulsory licence in circumstances where no compulsory licence would have been available. If followed that, where no other countervailing right was in play, the burden on the party seeking to show that the injunction would be disproportionate was a heavy one.