NATIONAL RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION OF INDIA NEW DELHI Vs. DELHI CLOTH AND GENERAL MILLS COMPANY LIMITED

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The plaintiff's application (I. A. No. 1915 of 1979) under O. 39, Rr. 1 and 2 and S. 151 of the Civil P. C. is for the issue of a temporary injunction restraining the defendants from infringing the plaintiff's Patent No. 138571 dated 26th November, 1973 in a suit for permanent injunction, rendition of accounts and damages. The plaintiff M/s. National Research Development Corporation of India alleges that it is a company incorporated under the Companies Act, 1913, that it is the proprietor/assignee of the said Patent No. 138571 relating of Titanium Substrate Insoluble Anode Assembly for Diaphragm Type Chloralkali Cells (hereinafter referred as 'TSIA') that the invention of the said patent was developed by certain inventors of Central Electro-Chemical Research Institute, Karaikudi, Tamilnadu (hereinafter referred to as 'CECRI') an institute of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, (hereinafter referred to as 'CSIR') that the said patent was originally granted in favour of CSIR, New Delhi who assigned the same to the plaintiff vide Assignment Deed dated 22nd May, 1979 for further development and exploitation of the patent process in accordance with a previous agreement dated 27th November, 1956 between the CSIR and the plaintiff. The invention is defined in claim Nos. 1 and 3 of patent No. 138571 as follows:

(2.) The defendants in the written statement and reply to the application plead that the plaintiff is not an assignee by virtue of the deed dated 22nd May, 1979 because the plaintiff's name has not been entered in the Register of Patents as proprietor and before such an entry under Ss. 63 and 69 of the Act the plaintiff is not a 'patentee' within the meaning of the Act, that the plaint has not been signed, verified and instituted by a duly authorised person that the alleged patent No. 138571 is liable to be revoked on various grounds mentioned in S. 65 of the Act, that the defendants developed their own techno logy and are in a position to render expertise and working knowhow regarding High Amperage Diaphragm Cells and Permanent Metal Anodes and have been in successful operation since February, 1977, that they have not infringed the plaintiff's patent, that the plaintiff is neither the inventor nor an assignee of any invention forming subject-matter of alleged Patent No. 138571, that the claims mentioned in the patent are vague and do not involve any inventive step having regard to the prior-art and prior-claiming, that the alleged correspondence referred to by the plaintiff does not relate to any patent rights whatsoever, that the plaintiff can always be, compensated in terms of money and as such it is not entitled to injunction.

(3.) An ex parta Injunction restraining the defendants from infringing the plaintiff's patent No. 138571 dated 26th November, 1973 was granted on l3th June, 1959. The defendants by the application (I. A. No. .1953 of 1979) under O. 39, R. 4 of the Civil P. C. pray thai the ex parta injunction be vacated.