Court of Justice 7 September 2004, C-207/03 and C-252/03 (Novartis AG, University College London and Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology v Comptroller-General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks for the United Kingdom (C-207/03) and Ministre de l'Économie v Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc. (C-252/03).)

Opinion of the Advocate-General Opinion of the Advocate-General I – Introduction 1. There has been a customs union between Switzerland and Liechtenstein since 1924, (2) which, since 1 April 1980, has extended to patents, a sphere in which a single patent office (the Swiss one) operates, which grants patents effective in both territories: (3) consequently, marketing authorisations for medicinal