A suit based on the enforcement of intellectual property rights falls within the definition of 'commercial dispute' under the Commercial Courts Act.

JUDGMENT

Amit Bansal, J. (Oral)

I.A. 14474/2022(u/S 151 CPC)

1. The present application has been filed on behalf of the applicant/defendant seeking reclassification of the present suit from a commercial suit to an ordinary suit. Reply has been filed on behalf of the plaintiff, which is not on record. However, a copy of the same has been handed over in Court and taken on record.

2. The present suit has been filed seeking recovery of USD 1,039,268.85/- (Rs.7,72,17,675.5/-) from the defendant on the basis of judgment dated 30th September, 2021 passed by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division (hereinafter "US District Court") in Civil Action No.4:21-cv-00279 titled Phillips 66 Company v. Raaj Unocal Lubricants Limited. The said suit was filed by the plaintiff for the enforcement of its intellectual property rights against the defendant in the United States of America.

3. Senior counsel appearing on behalf of the applicant/defendant submits that the present suit does not fall within the definition of `commercial dispute' under Section 2(1)(c) of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015. It is stated that the present suit does not fall in any of the categories mentioned in Section 2(1)(c) of the Commercial Courts Act and consequently, cannot be treated as a commercial suit. Reliance in this regard is placed on the judgment of the Supreme Court in Ambalal Sarabhai Enterprises Limited v. K.S. Infraspace LLP and Another, (2020)15 SCC 585 and order dated 26th April, 2017 passed by a Coordinate Bench of this Court in CS(COMM) 52/2017 titled Qatar Airways Q.C.S.C v. Airports Authority of India & Anr.. It is further contended that the present suit is not based on intellectual property rights in India, which are being litigated between the parties by way of other suits that are pending adjudication before this Court. The suit before the US District Court was based purely on the infringement of intellectual property rights in United States of America and unconnected with the intellectual property rights in India.

4. Senior counsel appearing on behalf of the plaintiff relies upon the words `arising out of' occurring in Section 2(1)(c) of the Commercial Courts act to submit that all disputes that are relatable to intellectual property rights would be covered under Section 2(1)(c)(xvii) of the Commercial Courts Act and therefore, would qualify as a commercial suit. It is further submitted that the present application has been filed only to circumvent the mandatory maximum statutory time limit of 120 days for filing of written statement in commercial suits.

5. I have heard the counsels for the parties.

6. At the outset, it is deemed apposite to refer to the relevant part of Section 2(1)(c)(xvii) of the Commercial Courts Act, which is set out below:

"2. Definitions.-(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,--

...

(c) "commercial dispute" means a dispute arising out of

...

(xvii) intellectual property rights relating to registered and unregistered trademarks, copyright, patent, design, domain names, geographical indications and semiconductor integrated circuits;"

7. It is evident from the wording of Section 2(1)(c) of the Commercial Courts Act that a commercial dispute includes a dispute that arises out of intellectual property rights of a party. The words `arising out of' used in Section 2(1)(c) have to be given their natural and ordinary meaning, which would mean to include all disputes involving intellectual property rights of a party. In the present case, the suit filed by the plaintiff before the US District Court was based on infringement of intellectual property rights of the plaintiff in the United States, wherein the US District Court passed an order of permanent injunction and awarded damages to the plaintiff amounting to USD 1,000,000/- along with attorney fees of USD 39,268/-. The present suit has been filed seeking recovery of the aforesaid amount. Since the United States of America