Liz Cohen is a partner at London law firm Bristows LLP, where she specialises in intellectual property matters with a particular focus on patent litigation. Her expertise lies in advising and representing businesses operating in the life sciences sector. Laura Peirson is a trainee in the IP Litigation practice of Bristows LLP.Patent laws in most European countries include an ‘experimental use’ exemption which permits the use of a patented invention for experimental purposes without infringing the rights of the patent holder. However, the legislation in this area varies throughout the EU according to how it has been implemented and subsequently interpreted by the national courts. This has led to uncertainty for companies operating in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries across Europe, due to the varying extent to which their activities can fall within the exemption in different Member States.More recently, experimental use in the life sciences sector has also been exempt from infringement if it is carried out to gain regulatory authorisation for generic products (the ‘EU Bolar‘ exemption). Since its introduction into UK law, the EU Bolar exemption has been the subject of a series of consultations, largely due to the UK’s relatively narrow implementation of the exemption and, in particular, the exclusion of innovative drugs from its protection. Consequently, the UK IPO is now proposing to amend the legislation to broaden the scope of the exemption.This article considers the issues surrounding the consultations and the plans to amend the Patents Act 1977 to expand the existing EU Bolar exemption. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]