Court overturns IMS Health ruling

Date: 31/10/01

THE EUROPEAN Court of First Instance has delivered a slap in the face to the Commission in a key test case on intellectual property. It overturned an interim decision by the executive to force IMS Health, a US firm, to share a key technique for analysing sales data with its main competitor in Germany, NDC.

In July, the Commission took the unusual step of granting NDC a compulsory licence before completing its probe into whether IMS Health was abusing its dominant position. Both NDC and Belgian rival AzyX said the data analysis system was so in demand that they would be forced to shut down in Germany if no licence was granted.

In its ruling, the Court stated that "there is at the very least a serious dispute regarding the correctness of the fundamental legal conclusion underpinning the [Commission's] decision".

The Court of First Instance has overturned an interim decision by the Commission to force IMS Health, a US firm, to share a key technique for analysing sales data with its main competitor in Germany, NDC.