Lords restore Euro obviousness consistency

On 9 July 2008 the House of Lords handed down judgement in Conor Medsystems Inc. v Angiotech Pharma. Inc. In earlier judgements, courts in England and in The Hague had arrived at opposing views regarding the obviousness of the invention causing much concern over the inconsistency of outcomes between European jurisdictions. The patent in suit concerned taxol coated stents for use in the prevention or treatment of restenosis; constriction of arteries previously dilated by angioplasty. In the leading judgement Hoffman LJ overturned the lower court's finding that the claims lacked inventive step, thereby concurring with the Dutch court.