UPL LIMITED Vs. PRADEEP SHARMA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The plaintiff which is a company engaged in the manufacture and sale of insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, weedicides, fumigant, PGR and rodenticides claims that it is the owner of the patent IN 206130 (in short IN 130), IN 194225 (in short IN 225) and IN 244551 (in short IN 551). In the present suit, the claim of the plaintiff is infringement of its three patents and seeks an order of interim injunction in its favour pending hearing of the suit.

(2.) In 225 titled "a process of preparing a chemically stable synergistic herbicidal composition" is a process patent, and IN 130 titled as "a chemically stable synergistic herbicidal composition" is a product patent whereas IN 551 titled as "a stable synergistic herbicidal composition" is both a product and process patent.

(3.) Claim of the plaintiff is that Metsulfuron Methyl and Sulfosulfuron are compounds which are used to control weeds without affecting the main crop. Metsulfuron controls grassy weeds but has no control on broad leaf weeds, whereas Sulfosulfuron has no control on grassy weeds but controls broad leaf weeds. Further, the two compounds are not physically and chemically compatible, hence no single composition containing both the compounds was available. Plaintiff claims having developed a composition comprising of these compounds along with suitable excipients such as inert fillers, stabilizer (0.1-1 wt%), defoamer (0.1-1 wt%), wetting and dispersing agents. The composition is in the form of wettable granules (WG). The uniqueness of the composition is that it is effective against both grassy as well as broad leaf weeds.