C-66/09

Kirin Amgen. Inc. v Lietuvos Respublikos valstybinis patent biuras

The following questions are referred to the Court of Justice of the European Communities under Article 234 EC for a preliminary ruling:

• Is the date, referred to in Article 19(2) of Regulation No 1768/92, upon which that regulation enters into force to be understood for Lithuania as the date of its accession to the European Union?
• Should the answer to the first question be in the affirmative, what is the relationship between Article 19 and Article 7 of Regulation No 1768/92 when calculating the six-month period and which of those articles is it necessary to apply in a case?
• Did an authorisation to place a product on the market in the European Community enter into force unconditionally in the Republic of Lithuania from the date of its accession to the European Union?
• Should the answer to the third question be in the affirmative, can the entry into force of the authorisation to place the product on the market be equated to its grant for the purposes of Article 3(b) of Regulation No 1768/92?

The civil proceedings are stayed pending receipt of the Court of Justice’s ruling.