Reckitt Benckiser Healthcare (UK) Ltd v Glaxosmithkline Australia Pty Ltd (No 5)

Reckitt Benckiser Healthcare (UK) Ltd sought relief against Glaxosmithkline Australia Pty Ltd for infringement of patent rights concerning a combination of a bottle, a flat-nosed syringe, and a measuring device. The Federal Court was tasked with interpreting the patent claims, determining the scope of protection, and assessing the validity of the patent. Key issues included the construction of the patent claims, the infringement of the patent by Glaxosmithkline’s products, the validity of the patent, and the entitlement of the patentee to the invention. The court had to decide whether the skilled addressee would have understood the patent to be limited to a specific field of use, whether the accused products infringed the patent claims, and whether the patent was valid and enforceable. The court found that the term “substantially” in the patent claim meant that the accused products infringed the patent as they achieved the same result as the patented combination. The court also ruled that the patent was valid and enforceable, rejecting the argument that it lacked an inventive step or was obtained by false suggestion. The court determined that the patentee was entitled to the invention based on the agreement between the parties. Finally, the court ordered the parties to confer and prepare draft orders to give effect to the decision, including the allocation of costs. If the parties could not agree on the costs, they were to file and serve any evidence and written submissions for a hearing on the issue of costs.