Not Responding To System-Generated Email On Patent Objections Cannot Be Construed As Abandonment: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has set aside the Patent Office's decision to abandon a Tetra Technologies patent application for failing to respond to objections raised in an examination report. The court ruled that the application could not be treated as abandoned solely because the company failed to respond to a system-generated email notifying it of the First Examination Report, without proof that the email was delivered.“Such an intimation, without more, cannot be the sole basis for visiting the...

Delhi High Court Sets Aside Glisten LLC's Patent Refusal, Says Grounds Must Be Notified Before Hearing

The Delhi High Court on 1 October set aside the Patent Office's refusal of an application filed by US company Glisten LLC for a gemstone coating invention and remanded the matter for fresh consideration. Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav observed that a “refusal founded on a ground not put to the applicant before the hearing cannot be sustained”. Glisten filed a patent application in India in 2020 titled “Gemstone Coating and Methods of Making and Using the Same”. The First Examination Report...

Companies Must Clear The Way Before Launching Processes That May Infringe Patents: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court has said companies seeking to enter a market with a process potentially covered by an existing patent must remove legal obstacles before commencing operations, rather than waiting to be sued for infringement.“In most jurisdictions the Courts now recognize that insofar as patent matters are concerned, if a would be entrant seeks to launch a process which may be covered by an existing patent, it must take steps to clear the way i.e. remove all obstacles before commencing...

Patent Revocation Can Be Sought Independently Or By Counter Claim, Cannot Be Curtailed: Madras High Court

The Madras High court has ruled that a party facing a patent infringement suit can seek revocation of the patent either through a separate revocation petition or by filing a counterclaim in the infringement suit. It cannot be forced to pursue only the counter claim.“This statutory right cannot be whittled down by forcing the litigant to choose a remedy by only filing a counter claim,” Justice K. Kumaresh Babu observed. “Such statutory rights available to the litigant cannot be curtailed to the...

Should 20-Year Patent Term Start From Filing Or Grant Despite Delay In Grant? Supreme Court To Decide

The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notice on a special leave petition challenging the constitutional validity of the law under which a patent's 20-year term runs from the date of filing, even where years of that term pass before the patent is granted. A bench of Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe issued notice on the plea. The court had, on September 21, appointed Advocate Kruttika Vijay as amicus curiae to assist it. The petition challenges an April 22, 2025,...

Delhi HC Temporarily Restrains Melody Healthcare From Selling Ruxolitinib Products In Incyte Patent Case

The Delhi High Court has temporarily restrained Melody Healthcare Private Limited from using, manufacturing, stockpiling, importing, selling, offering for sale or supply, or exporting pharmaceutical drug products containing Ruxolitinib.The restraint applies where such conduct amounts to infringement of Incyte Holdings Corporation's patent. Justice Vikas Mahajan held that the plaintiffs had made out a prima facie case for an ex parte ad interim injunction. He observed, “The balance of...

Centre Can Use Power Under Patents Act To Make Exorbitantly Priced Drugs Affordable: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court on Monday held that Section 100 of the Patents Act permits the Central Government to use a patent to manufacture a medicine and sell it to a needy patient on a non-commercial basis. It further held that the provision is required to be invoked where a patented medicine is being sold at an exorbitant price.“The provisions of Section 100 impose no restriction on who the purchaser could be,” Justice Harisankar V. Menon held. “When that be so, the provisions under Section 100...

Delhi High Court Dismisses ITC Challenge To Philip Morris Heat-Not-Burn Cigarette Patent

The Delhi High Court has dismissed ITC's challenge to a patent held by Philip Morris for heat-not-burn tobacco technology, the kind used in devices like IQOS.Justice Jyoti Singh passed the judgment, ruling against ITC on both a writ petition and a separate appeal.Philip Morris holds a patent for a "heated aerosol generating article." This covers a cigarette-like device that heats tobacco to release vapour instead of burning it like a regular cigarette.The patent was granted in December 2021 and...

Delhi High Court Refuses To Restrain Xiaomi From Using 'Find Device' Feature In Patent Dispute

The Delhi High Court has refused to restrain Xiaomi Technology India Private Limited from using its “Find Device” feature, finding that Conqueror Innovations Private Limited had not established a prima facie case of patent infringement. The court also held that Conqueror's approximately nine-year delay in approaching it was, by itself, enough to deny interim relief.A Division Bench of Justice V. Kameswar Rao and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora upheld the Single Judge's refusal to grant an...

'Tragic Picture Of IP Rights Ecosystem': Bombay High Court Rules Scientist, Not IIT Bombay, Owns Invention After 13-Year Battle

Observing that prolonged proceedings over a patent application had cost a scientist 13 years out of the 20-year statutory patent protection period, the Bombay High Court has recognised him as the sole owner of the invention and directed that his patent application be considered on merits. Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan was dealing with a petition filed by Dr. Tarkeshwar Chandrakant Patil, an original inventor named in the patent application filed by IIT Bombay for an invention titled “An...

Delhi High Court Revives Patent Bid For Improved Process To Make Drug Used To Reverse Muscle Relaxation

The Delhi High Court has set aside the Patent Office's decision refusing a patent application for an improved process to prepare sugammadex, a drug used to reverse the effects of certain muscle relaxants administered during surgery. The court found that the applicant was denied a mandatory opportunity of hearing before the refusal.Justice Jyoti Singh observed that hearings held during the pre-grant opposition proceedings could not replace the separate hearing required before the application was...

Supreme Court Stays Swiss Company's Patent Suit Against Techfab Before Himachal Pradesh High Court

The Supreme Court on Tuesday, 1 September stayed further proceedings before the Himachal Pradesh High Court in a patent infringement suit filed by Swiss company Geobrugg AG against Techfab (India) Industries Ltd. over the manufacture and sale of high-tensile wire mesh products sold under the “TECCO” brand. A Bench of Justices K.V. Viswanathan and Arun Palli issued notice returnable on 2 November and directed the parties to complete their pleadings in the meantime. During the hearing, the judges...