Sweet victory

The famous medicinal properties of Manuka honey have been recognised in intellectual property law. The Court of Appeal upheld the right of Apimed Medical Honey Ltd, a subsidiary of Comvita, to patent the use of the honey in wound dressings (Apimed Medical Honey Ltd v Brightwake Ltd [2012] EWCA Civ 5).

The honey has proven anti-microbial properties, but is liquid at room temperature therefore difficult to use for dressings. The patent was originally found to be invalid because of existing research demonstrating a way to use Manuka honey in a wound dressing. However, the court overturned this because the patent described a different way to use the honey.

Clive Thorne, partner at Reynolds Porter Chamberlain, which acted for Apimed, said: “This is a crucial result for the burgeoning exploitation of Manuka honey’s unique anti-bacterial properties in post-surgical wound dressing. The effective use of Manuka honey in the health sector is dependent on businesses like Comvita being able to license their product for other uses.”