A company based in Sambalpur held a patent for an innovative method to safely treat hazardous industrial waste from aluminium production. The patent lapsed because renewal fees were not paid on time due to the negligence of the company’s appointed patent agent. The company discovered the lapse only later, during the difficult COVID period when physical verification was hard. It approached the Orissa High Court seeking permission to file a restoration application even after the normal deadline had expired. The court found that the company itself was not at fault, had acted diligently, and never intended to abandon the patent. Relying on similar rulings from the Delhi High Court, it held that an innocent patent holder should not lose valuable rights because of an agent’s mistake, especially during the pandemic. The writ petition was allowed. The company was permitted to file the restoration application within thirty days, and the authorities were directed to consider it on merits within two months.
Law settled in the case
- Negligence or error by a patent agent, without any fault on the part of the patentee, can be condoned and restoration of a lapsed patent may be permitted.
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