Combination SPCs: shaken and stirred

The creation of supplementary protection certificates (SPCs) in the EU in the 1990s was a significant victory for innovators in the medicinal and agrochemical fields. By providing up to five years of extra patent protection for authorised medicinal and plant protection products, which require market authorisation (MA) before entry on the market, SPCs are some of the most valuable IP rights available. Their aim is to compensate patentees for the period of a patent term that is lost during the lengthy regulatory processes.