The court finds the claimed invention lacking inventive step and novelty, affirming the Assistant Controller's decision.
In a significant judgment, the Delhi High Court has upheld the decision of the Assistant Controller of Patents and Designs, rejecting Sulzer Mixpac AG's patent application for a static mixer. The Division Bench, comprising Justices C. Hari Shankar and Om Prakash Shukla, concluded that the invention did not demonstrate an inventive step or novelty over the existing prior art.
Sulzer Mixpac AG, the appellant, sought to patent a static mixer designed to connect more than five installation bodies using a common bar element. However, the Assistant Controller and subsequently, the court, found that prior art, particularly the document referred to as D1, already disclosed similar features, thus failing the test of inventiveness.
The court scrutinized the Assistant Controller's reasoning, which cited multiple prior art documents, D1 to D4, revealing that the concept of connecting multiple installation bodies was not new. The judges noted that the inventive step, as claimed by Sulzer, was an obvious modification to someone skilled in the art, especially given that the prior art itself was developed by the same inventor.
Furthermore, the court dismissed the appellant's argument regarding the maintainability of the Letters Patent Appeal, reinforcing that the Controller of Patents is not a "civil court" under Section 100A of the CPC, thereby allowing the appeal to be heard.
The judgment reinforces the rigorous standards required to establish inventiveness and novelty in patent applications, emphasizing that mere modifications of prior art, particularly by the same inventor, do not suffice for patentability.
Bottom line:-
Patents Act, 1970 - Appeal against rejection of patent application - Determination of inventive step and novelty - Mere modification of prior art, especially when the prior art is by the same inventor, is insufficient to claim inventiveness.
Statutory provision(s): Patents Act, 1970 Section 2(1)(j), Patents Act, 1970 Section 2(1)(ja), Patents Act, 1970 Section 117A(2)
