Pfizer Ireland Pharmaceuticals v Samsung Bioepis AU Pty Ltd

Pfizer Ireland Pharmaceuticals sought preliminary discovery against Samsung Bioepis AU Pty Ltd for alleged patent infringement. The primary legal issue was whether Pfizer held a reasonable belief that it had a right to obtain relief for patent infringement. This hinged on Pfizer's ability to demonstrate that it reasonably believed Samsung Bioepis had relevant documents in its control and that inspecting these documents would aid in deciding whether to commence proceedings. The court also needed to determine if the evidence presented was admissible under the Evidence Act 1995 and if the rules of evidence should be waived. Pfizer argued that its belief was reasonable based on the similarity between its process and Samsung Bioepis's BRENZYS product, and that Samsung Bioepis likely had relevant documents. However, the court found that Pfizer's chain of inferences did not rise above speculation and that the evidence did not sufficiently establish a reasonable belief in its right to relief. The court dismissed the application and ordered Pfizer to pay Samsung Bioepis's costs.