patent
Delhi HC Rebukes Patent Office: Natural Justice Rules in VIB VZW
When the Indian Patent Office issues a refusal order that ignores an applicant’s prior submissions, it violates the fundamental principles of natural justice. Under Section 117A of the Patents Act, 1970, the Delhi High Court has clarified that controllers must engage substantively with an applicant's response to the First Examination Report. A failure to address these arguments, combined with a disregard for the mandatory five-step F. Hoffmann-La Roche test for inventive step, renders a rejection order legally unsustainable and liable to be set aside for procedural error.