Beyond Borders: Why Foreign Grants Matter for Indian Patent Disclosure

This Saturday morning, the CHIZAI Toastmasters Club had the pleasure of welcoming Gopal Trivedi to discuss recent judicial precedents regarding disclosure requirements in Indian patent prosecution. It was a wonderful way to kick off a sunny weekend in Tokyo.

One particularly insightful point from the Bombay High Court's ruling in the JFE Steel case is as follows:

"Also learned counsel for the Petitioner has rightly pointed out that the Impugned Order does not take into account the fact that patents in respect of the same invention have been granted in several foreign jurisdictions, including the United States, Europe, China and Japan. While the grant of a patent in other jurisdictions is not determinative of patentability under Indian law, it is nevertheless a relevant consideration which cannot be brushed aside, particularly when the rejection is founded solely on alleged insufficiency of disclosure."

土曜日の午前、知財トーストマスターズクラブはGopal Trivedi氏をお迎えし、インドの特許出願における開示要件に関する近年の司法判断についてお話を伺いました。東京の晴れた週末の始まりにふさわしい、素晴らしいひとときとなりました。

特に、JFEスチール事件におけるボンベイ高等裁判所の判決から得られた洞察に満ちたポイントのひとつは、以下の通りです。

"Also learned counsel for the Petitioner has rightly pointed out that the Impugned Order does not take into account the fact that patents in respect of the same invention have been granted in several foreign jurisdictions, including the United States, Europe, China and Japan. While the grant of a patent in other jurisdictions is not determinative of patentability under Indian law, it is nevertheless a relevant consideration which cannot be brushed aside, particularly when the rejection is founded solely on alleged insufficiency of disclosure."