Certificate of contested validity meaning

A certificate of contested validity is a court order confirming that a patent’s validity has already been challenged in litigation and upheld. In the UK, it is a statutory mechanism under section 65 of the Patents Act 1977. The court may grant it where validity was put in issue (for example, in infringement proceedings with an invalidity counterclaim or in revocation proceedings) and the patent, or specified claims, was found valid. Its key effect is on costs in later cases: if, in subsequent proceedings, a party again contests the validity of the certified patent claims and loses on that issue, the patentee is ordinarily entitled to costs on the indemnity basis for the validity issue, unless the court directs otherwise. This deters repeat or unmeritorious validity challenges. Grant is discretionary, not automatic, and is typically sought at judgment or in consequential orders. Practice is consistent across England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland (Patents Court, IPEC, Court of Session and High Court of Northern Ireland). In Ireland, the term is not used in legislation and there is no direct statutory equivalent. Irish courts retain broad discretion on costs in patent validity disputes under the Patents Act 1992 and court rules.