Europe's highest court, the CJEU has provided a welcome boost to the pharmaceutical industry following the Advocate General's opinion in Seattle Genetics Inc. v Österreichisches Patentamt, potentially extending the term of patent protection via supplementary protection certificates (SPCs).

The date of the first marketing authorisation in the EEA is crucial to determing the length of term of an SPC.

Many Marketing Authorisations have two key dates associated with them:

- the date of grant of the Marketing Authorisation itself; and

- the (later) date on which the Marketing Authorisation is notified.

There was some doubt as to which date should be used to determine the length of an SPC. The CJEU confirms that both the term of an SPC and the deadline for applying for an SPC may be set by the date on which the first Marketing Authorisation is notified.