Patent Denials Require Proof, Not Presumptions: Calcutta High Court

Patent Denials Require Proof, Not Presumptions: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court has ruled that patents cannot be denied citing health, public order or morality without cogent scientific or technical evidence.

The Calcutta High Court, presided over by Justice Ravi Kishan Kapur, has held that patent denial on grounds of morality, public order or health requires robust scientific evidence, setting aside an order denying patent to ITC Limited's invention titled 'A Heater Assembly to Generate Aerosol'.

The Court stated that, “The interaction of patent laws and ethics is an uncomfortable relationship and has always produced difficulties. In such circumstance, section 3(b) ought not to be interpreted to deal with all subjective concerns of morality, public order or health regardless of any scientific or technical evidence or any cogent reasoning.”

The patent office had rejected the application citing its use in electronic cigarettes, but the Court found this to be a preconceived and subjective notion without scientific basis. The Court also held that tobacco products are not per se unpatentable in India and that the grant of a patent confers exclusionary rights, not affirmative rights to sell or commercialize the product. The Court directed the patent office to reconsider the case.

In this case the plaintiff was represented by Mr. Gaurav Pachnanda and Mr. J Sai Deepak, Senior Advocates who were instructed by Mr. Samik Mukherjee, Mr. Manosij Mukherjee, Ms. Amrita Majumdar and a team from S Majumdar & Co and were assisted by Threcy Joboy Lawrence, Advocate. Meanwhile the defendant was represented by Ms. Sanjukta Gupta, Advocate.