French court upholds Novartis patent ruling

Novartis has won a Court of Appeal decision in Paris to uphold the French portion of its European 'Nicholson' patent for extended-wear lenses against Johnson & Johnson, which was attempting to overturn the intellectual property protection.

The ruling confirmed a March 2009 decision which rejected a J&J appeal, ordering J&J not to sell its Acuvue Oasys lenses in France, reported Bloomberg.

It comes just weeks after London's Court of Appeal invalidated Novartis's patent over claims it was 'insufficient' (Optician, News 08.10.10).

There have been mixed rulings on the dispute, with judges in the US, France and the Netherlands backing the Novartis patent, while courts in the UK, Germany and Austria have ruled in favour of J&J.