MONSANTO TECHNOLOGY LLC Vs. NUZIVEEDU SEEDS LTD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted.

(2.) The appellants/plaintiffs in Civil Appeal Nos.4616-­4617 of 2018 instituted Civil Suit (Comm) No. 132 of 2016 seeking permanent injunction against the defendants from using the trademark "BOLGARD" and "BOLGARD II" brand cotton technology, violating the registered patent no. 214436 of the plaintiffs, and also to further restrain the defendants from selling and or using seeds/hybrid seeds bearing the patented technology, infringing the registered patent of the plaintiffs, along with rendition of accounts. The parties shall, for convenience, be referred to by their position in the original suit.

(3.) The plaintiffs pursuant to their patent rights had entered into a sub-­licence agreement dated 21.02.2004 with the defendants for an initial period of ten years. The agreement entitled the defendants to develop "Genetically Modified Hybrid Cotton Planting Seeds" with help of the plaintiffs' technology and to commercially exploit the same subject to the limitations prescribed in the agreement. The agreement also provided for payment of licence fee/trait value by the defendants, for use of the plaintiffs' patented technology. The agreement after extension was ultimately terminated by the plaintiffs on 14.11.2015 due to disputes regarding payment of licence fee/trait value in view of subsequent price control regime introduced by the State, and to which the defendants required adherence by the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs filed an application for injunction under Order 39, Rule 1 and 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure (hereinafter referred to as 'the Code"), to restrain the defendants from using their registered trade mark in violation of the registered patent during the pendency of the suit in view of the termination of the agreement.