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At-a-glance: National Board of Patent and Registrations of Finland Arkadiankatu 6 A, Helsinki, PO Box 1140, FI-00101 Helsinki Tel: +358 (0)9 6939 500 Fax: +358 (0)9 6939 5328 Website: www.prh.fi The Finnish litigation market is generally dominated... [more]

The Finnish litigation market is generally dominated by patent disputes between generic companies and originators, and 2010 was no different. Finnish courts heard a number of disputes, among them Eli Lilly v Ratiopharm, Ratiopharm v Merck, Janssen Cilag v Actavis Group, Actavis Group v Novartis and AstraZeneca v Sandoz, to name a few. There was one high-profile patent litigation case unrelated to the pharmaceutical industry in which shipping companies Flinter Groningen and Flinter Shipping were involved in cross-border patent litigation.

On the trade mark side firms handled a wider variety of cases. The Arla Ingman v Valio trade mark infringement case appeared before the Supreme Court and listed Finnish companies Ruukki and Rautaruukki fought a number of trade mark disputes related to leading brands. Customs seizures were carried out on behalf of Lego and Nokia, and one interesting case saw Ivana Trump locked in litigation with local company IVANAHelsinki over the Ivana trade mark.

One of the developments in the market may have boosted work in trade marks. "There are new Customs regulations which make it possible to seize counterfeit goods coming into the EU market, for example from Russia to Finland; it gives a good new flavour to legal business," says a leading IP lawyer. An anti-counterfeit and piracy coalition (CAPIP) was also established between IP firms in 23 European and Scandinavian countries.

The copyright market simmered along, with a number of disputes between broadcasting companies and collecting societies and legal media publishing house WSOY appearing in litigation before the Supreme Court.

On the prosecution side firms registered an increase of activity. "The economic downturn was quite heavy in Finland but overall filing went up 20% last year and this year [2010] as well about 20%, but the increase of revenues is mostly from the other services".

Two potential changes loom on the horizon. The first is the establishment of a centralised IP court in Market Court Helsinki. "It is a concerted decision the government has made and this [single court] will happen – there is a parliamentary election next spring and the question is whether or not they have the funds to do it. It is very likely that the change will take place and depending on the funding it will come into effect in the next three years," says a partner. The second development is more of a worry. The London Agreement "is in parliament still... looking at summer 2011 but it is somewhat open – in summer 2009 we decided to join the London Agreement and since then have just been doing amendments, changes to protect laws so that most things can be done in English," says a peer.

IP practitioners value the translation industry at €12 million to €15 million, and some of the firms have big stakes in this market. "I have no idea what will happen to them," says a partner, adding "we are a little afraid of the situation in Finland after the London Agreement".