Recently, the Intellectual Property Division of the Calcutta High Court set aside the rejection of Patent Application No. 4842/KOLNP/2007 titled “Crystalline Modifications to Pyraclostrobin”. The application was filed in 2007, but the Patent Office rejected the patent application in March 2024, with just over a year remaining in the patent’s 20-year term. The Court noted that the Controller’s rejection order was inconsistent, with contradictory findings on inventive step and sufficiency of disclosure. Additionally, the Court observed that such prolonged and inordinate delay defeated the purpose of patent protection. Such a delay of nearly 18 years is also a grave violation of the principles of natural justice. The Court held that, “the delay is not only violative of the principles of natural justice but also makes a mockery of the entire procedure for grant of patent”. Setting aside the order, the Court directed that the matter be remanded for fresh consideration.
Source: Basf Se v. Joint Controller of Patents and Designs and Ors. [(IPDPTA/5/2024)]