Timo Minssen

Assoc. Prof. in IP- & Innovation Law

'Forskningsområdet', 'JUR Forskningscenterområdet'
Skt. Peders Stræde 19
1453 København K

Office: Studiegården, 3. sal, 02-3-31
Phone: +45 353-23525
Phone (Reception desk): +45 353-23149
Mobile: +45 46706607517
E-mail: timo.minssen@jur.ku.dk

Primary research areas

• Pharmaceutical-, Life Science- & Biotech Law
• Comparative European & US Patent Law
• Intellectual Property Law
• Law & Technology

Fields of interest

• EU Competition- & US Antitrust Law
• EU Law
• Medical & Health Law

My research examines the legal disciplines of Intellectual Property- and Competition Law with a special focus on the pharmaceutical, life science & biotech sectors. Thus, one principal objective of my research is to explore specific legal issues that emerge during the lifecycle of related products and processes, i.e. from research & invention to technology transfer & commercialization.

The legal issues within this area are unusually compelling: The relevant industries are among the largest, but also most heavily regulated sectors in the world. They are characterized by different areas of law converging to create a legal landscape that can be difficult to navigate. In Europe, the industry is influenced by general areas of EU law, such as competition law, free movement of goods and - most importantly – by intellectual property law (IP) at the international, European and national level. But it is also affected by EU regulatory law targeted specifically at the industry, including approval of medicinal products, data/marketing exclusivities, trade secrets and clinical trials. In few other areas there is a similar need for an overall understanding of such a broad spectrum of interlocking legal disciplines. It is also a highly global industry and legal research will typically include international aspects, e.g. in the context of cross-border transactions, debates concerning access to medicine and "green" technologies, patent disputes or regulatory approval strategies. In this respect, it is relevant in some areas to introduce comparisons with the emerging major economies and the US legal system, which often informs EU law and influences European legislators and authorities, as well as companies’ legal strategies

The significance of these sectors and the fascinating law and science related to it makes it a highly interesting area to explore and study.  In my research special emphasis is laid on patent law, regulatory rules related to clinical trial- and market approval procedures, as well as on the interface between IPRs & competition law. In order to understand how these legal aspects influence the pharmaceutical, life science & biotech industries in the context of rapid legal, political, economic and scientific changes, it is important to gain a practical understanding of the business dynamics of the industry and some knowledge of product development and the science on which it is based.

Research management (interdisciplinary UCPH 2016 projects and external funding)

1. Fertilizing the ground and harvesting the full potential of the new neutron and X-ray research infrastructures close to UCPH (coPI, WP leader and member of the steering committee, 1 PhD student)
2. Global genes, local concerns: Legal, ethical and scientific challenges in cross-national biobanking and translational exploitation (coPI, WP leader and member of the steering committee, 1 PhD student)
3. BioSYNergy: Synthetic Biology - towards a Bio-Based Society (coPI, WP leader and member of the steering committee, 1 PhD student and post Doc)
4. User Generated Law: Re-constructing Law in the Knowledge Society (coPI, WP leader)
5. Co-supervisor for a PhD a project on "EU Pharmaceutical Policy in Denmark - the case of counterfeit drugs (in co-operation with the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences)

Teaching

• European Pharmaceutical Law, IPR & the Life Sciences (UCPH - Course Director)http://sis.ku.dk/kurser/viskursus.aspx?knr=139161
• Copenhagen Summer University: Pharmaceutical Law & Policy (UCPH - Course Director) http://copenhagensummeruniversity.ku.dk/en/courses/pharmalawpolicy/
• European Intellectual Property Law & Policy in an International Context (UCPH - Course Coordinator - 2010)
• EU Law & the High Tech Industries (Guest Lecturer at Lund University)
• Competition & IPR Dynamics (Guest Lecturer at Lund University)

Teaching in PhD -courses

• Innovation and intellectual property rights in biotechnology- Course for PhD-students, industrial biotechnologists and faculty in biotech patenting and entrepreneurship - organized by the Department of Plant & Environmental Sciences at the Faculty of Science and offered by the University of Copenhagen and Lund's University as an collaborative effort, see http://www.dias.kvl.dk/iprforphds.html.
• Health Innovation - HealthZup - ideas for the future – new PhD course in innovation developed by the Faculty of Health Sciences at UCPH.  The course is based on the Stanford concept of "Biodesign - The Process of Innovating Medical Technologies”, see: http://healthzup.sund.ku.dk/ .

• Information and Innovation law – Methodological Issues – new PhD course organized by Professor Jens Schovsbo, Centre for Information and Innovation Law (CIIR) in cooperation with Professor Dan L. Burk, UC Irvine (visiting professor at CIIR in the spring of 2013).

Selected publications

• Minssen, T , Nguyen, TT & Groussot, X 2009 ' The Rule of Reason under Article 82 EC after Sot Lelos Kai Sia '.

• Minssen, T 2005, Patenting Human DNA sequences in Europe and the U.S.: A comparative analysis of patentability requirements for nucleic acid sequences . University of Lund.

• Minssen, T & Groussot, X 2007, ' Res Judicata i EG-domstolens rättspraxis: En avvägning mellan rättssäkerhet och lagenlighet ' Europarättslig tidskrift , vol 10, no. 3, pp. 535 - 567.

• Minssen, T & Groussot, X 2007, ' Res Judicata in the ECJ Case Law: Balancing Legal Certainty with Legality? ' European Constitutional Law Review , vol 3, no. 3, pp. 385 - 417.

• Minssen, T & Gozzo, G 2007, ' Obesvarade frågor rörande patent på datorrelaterade uppfinningar och affärsmetoder?: Reflektioner kring Alain Pompidous brev till Lord Justice Jacob ' NIR : Nordiskt immateriellt rättsskydd , vol 76, no. 3, pp. 220 - 245.

• Minssen, T & Schindler, G 2008, ' Zur Zulässigkeit von Feststellungsklagen im US Lizensrecht nach den Entscheidungen in MedImmune und SanDisk ' Gewerblicher Rechtsschutz und Urheberrecht. Internationaler Teil , vol 57, no. 3, pp. 192 - 200.

• Minssen, T 2008, ' Es bleibet dabei: Eine schwedische Stellungnahme zur europäischen Debatte über den absoluten Erzeugnisschutz bei der DNA-Patentierung – Teil 1 ' Klinische Forschung und Recht , vol 3, no. 3, pp. 93 - 97.

• Minssen, T 2008, ' Es bleibet dabei: Eine schwedische Stellungnahme zur europäischen Debatte über den absoluten Erzeugnisschutz bei der DNA-Patentierung – Teil 2 ' Klinische Forschung und Recht , vol 3, no. 4, pp. 105 - 120.

• Minssen, T 2008, ' När anses en bioteknologisk uppfinning vara komplett och praktiskt användbar? – Del 1: – Om nyare utvecklingar kring kravet på ’industrial application’ och ’utility’ för gen- och proteinrelaterade uppfinningar i USA och Europa ' NIR : Nordiskt immateriellt rättsskydd , vol 77, no. 3, pp. 201 - 260.

• Minssen, T 2008, ' När anses en bioteknologisk uppfinning vara komplett och praktiskt användbar? – Del 2: Om nyare utvecklingar kring kravet på ’industrial application’ och ’utility’ för gen- och proteinrelaterade uppfinningar i USA och Europa ' NIR : Nordiskt immateriellt rättsskydd , vol 77, no. 4, pp. 339 - 387.

• Minssen, T 2008, ' The US examination of nonobviousness after KSR v. Teleflex with special emphasis on DNA Related Inventions ' IIC - International Review of Intellectual Property and Competition Law , vol 39, no. 8, pp. 886 - 916.

• Minssen, T 2009 Restoring the balance: The Patentability of DNA-related Technology in the US and Europe . SSRN. [Online]. Available from: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1482966 [Accessed 01. March 2009].

• Minssen, T 2010, ' Meanwhile On the Other Side of The Pond:: Why a biopharmaceutical invention that was "obvious to try", still might not be obvious - Part I ' Chicago Kent Journal of Intellectual Property Law , vol 9, pp. 60-131.

• Minssen, T & Schwartz, R 2011, ' US Patent Eligibility in the Wake of Bilski v. Kappos: Business as Usual in an Age of New Technologies? ' Biotechnology Law Report , vol 30, no. 1, pp. 3 - 56.

• Minssen, T & Schwartz, R 2011, ' A Sequel to "US Patent Eligibility in the wake of Bilski v. Kappos": "Business as Usual in an Age of New Technologies?" ' Biotechnology Law Report , vol 30, no. 1, pp. 57 - 58.

• Nguyen, TT, Groussot, X & Minssen, T 2011, ' Refusal to Supply in the EU Pharmaceutical Sector under the Rule of Reason '. in HH Lidgard (ed.), National Developments in the Intersection of IPR and Competition Law: from Maglite to Pirate Bay. vol. 3, Hart Publishing Pty Ltd, Oxford / Portland, pp. 283-306. Swedish Studies in European Law - No. 3

• Minssen, T 2012, ' Patents and Technological Progress in a Globalized World-Liber Amicorum Joseph Straus: A review ' The IP Law Book Review , vol 2, no. 2, pp. 83 - 102.