In the case of Les Laboratoires Servier and Another v KRKA Polska SP.ZO.O. and Another [2006], the claimants made an application for an interim injunction to prevent the marketing and distribution of a drug which they claimed infringed their patent. The claimant companies were in the business of manufacturing and researching pharmaceutical products. The first claimant was the second largest French pharmaceutical company worldwide, and the second claimant was a wholly owned subsidiary that marketed and researched such products within the UK.

The defendants were members of a group of companies involved in the sale and distribution of a large number of generic pharmaceutical products worldwide.

Intellectual Property (”IP”) crime (counterfeiting and piracy as it is more widely known), has grown considerably over the past 10 years and is reported to have serious economic effects both in the UK and globally. Ineffective enforcement of intellectual property rights (”IPRs”) is a significant cost to industry in terms of damage to innovation and wealth creation.