Guidance

Before Filing

The Supplementary Protection Certificate for medicinal / plant protection products (SPCP) constitutes a form of intellectual property by which the beneficiary can secure the extension of patent protection concerning active substances contained in pharmaceutical or plant protection products.

The purpose of SPCP is to compensate the beneficiary of a patent that protects active substances in pharmaceutical or plant protection products from the delay that arises from the filing date of the Patent until the date of receiving the necessary license for market release of the active substance, mainly due to long-term clinical testing that the said products are subjected to before their release to the market.

To secure an SPCP, the following conditions must be met:

• the product is protected in the Republic of Cyprus by a valid patent;
• the first license for the product's release to the Cypriot or European Union market has been secured; and
• the product has not been the object of a certificate.

The application for granting an SPCP is submitted no later than six (6) months from the grant date of either the first license for market release of the product or the patent, whichever is the latter.