This case arose from the rejection of Patent Application No.122/CHE/2006 filed by the appellant, Srinivas Jegannathan, who sought protection for an invention titled “Formulation of Ceftazidime, Tazobactum and Linezolid for Enhancement of Antibacterial Activity.” After issuance of the First Examination Report (FER), the appellant amended his claims and participated in a hearing before the Controller of Patents. The Controller ultimately rejected the application on 26 March 2014, leading to this appeal under Section 117-A of the Patents Act, 1970.
The dispute centered on whether the claimed combination of a cephalosporin (Ceftazidime), a beta-lactamase inhibitor (Tazobactum), and an oxazolidinone (Linezolid) was obvious in light of prior arts D1 to D3, and whether amendments made by the appellant were beyond the permissible scope of Section 59 of the Patents Act. The appellant argued that none of the cited prior arts disclosed or suggested the claimed three-drug combination and contended that the amendments arose from the hearing process, offering to revert to the original claims if necessary. The respondent maintained that the amended claims were rightly assessed and rejected based on detailed analysis of prior arts, asserting that the combination lacked inventive merit.
The Court examined the impugned order and noted it lacked sufficient reasoning to demonstrate why a person skilled in the art would find the claimed combination obvious based on the cited prior arts, none of which individually disclosed all three ingredients together. It further observed that since the appellant proposed to revert to the original claims, objections under Section 59 and reliance on additional prior arts D4 to D6 lost relevance.
Ultimately, the High Court set aside the rejection order dated 26 March 2014 and remanded the matter for fresh consideration confined to the original claims. It directed reconsideration by a different officer, required a speaking order to be passed within three months, and clarified that the respondent could cite additional prior art after giving notice. The Court made no finding on the merits of the patent application and disposed of the appeal without costs.
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Written By: Advocate Ajay Amitabh Suman, IP Adjutor [Patent and Trademark Attorney], High Court of Delhi
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