Article
Patents – IPAB reaffirms principles of natural justice while discussing prior art documents and description
By Vasanth
Vaidyanathan
The article in this issue of IPR Amicus discusses elaborately, the recent decision of the Intellectual Property Appellate Board reaffirming the importance of the principles of natural justice in judicial and/or quasi-judicial decisions, whilst also clarifying aspects of patent law with respect to cited prior art documents and description of the invention. The IPAB criticised the Controller of Patents for having taken a contrary view as to the patentability of the instant application when it had been recognised in other countries. It emphasized that the Controller was duty bound to provide reasoning when taking a contrary view. The article also discusses at length various other aspects of the said decision like, Section 3(i) objection, prior art documents vis-à-vis Section 2(1)(j), non-provision of reasons for rejection under Section 3(d), admissibility of additional data, etc...
Ratio Decidendi
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