Arrow declaration

noun

A declaration or order sought, for reasons of legal certainty, from a court that a product or process to be launched was old (i.e., not novel) or obvious in patent law terms at a particular date, so that the product (or process) cannot be affected by (i.e., cannot infringe) any later granted patent, which would itself necessarily also either lack novelty or inventive step.

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Meanings

nounArrow declaration (plural Arrow declarations)

plural Arrow declarations

  1. UKintellectual propertyA declaration or order sought, for reasons of legal certainty, from a court that a product or process to be launched was old (i.e., not novel) or obvious in patent law terms at a particular date, so that the product (or process) cannot be affected by (i.e., cannot infringe) any later granted patent, which would itself necessarily also either lack novelty or inventive step.

Origin

Named after Arrow Generics Ltd. v Merck & Co Inc [2007] EWHC 1900 (Pat), in which it was originally suggested that this mechanism would be available as a declaratory relief.

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Cite this entry
APA

Arrow declaration. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Arrow%20declaration

MLA

“Arrow declaration.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Arrow%20declaration. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Arrow declaration,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Arrow%20declaration.

Source: Arrow declaration on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.