Patent is prima facie invalid due to prior claiming and non-working, infringing on patent system integrity by prolonging monopoly post-expiration.

JUDGMENT

Prathiba M. Singh, J. This hearing has been done through hybrid mode.

I.A.15628/2022 (u/O XXXIX Rules 1 & 2 CPC)

Brief Facts

2. The present is a suit filed by Plaintiff No.1 - FMC Corporation, USA and its two group companies i.e., Plaintiff No. 2 - FMC Agro Singapore Pvt. Ltd and Plaintiff No.3 - FMC India Pvt. Ltd. seeking inter alia, an injunction restraining the infringement of Indian Patent No. IN252004 titled "Method for Preparing Fused Oxazinones from Ortho-Amino Aromatic Carboxylic Acid and a Carboxylic Acid in the presence of a Sulfonyl Chloride and Pyridine" (hereinafter "IN.004/suit patent") by the Defendant-GSP Crop Science Private Limited.

3. The Plaintiffs are companies engaged in the manufacture, marketing and sale of chemicals including agro chemicals. They carry on business in India and several other countries of the world.

4. The pleaded case is that Plaintiff No.1 was founded in 1883 as Bean Spray Pump Company by John Bean, who developed the first piston-pump insecticide sprayer. Thereafter, in 1928 Bean Spray Pump purchased Anderson-Barngrover Co. and Sprague-Sells Co. and changed its company name to Food Machinery Corporation (FMC). Over the years it expanded its areas of business in India and around the world to various sectors including defense, gold mining, tractors etc.

5. Plaintiff No.1 was divided in 2001 into two separate, publically traded companies - a machinery business (FMC Technologies) and a chemicals business (FMC Corporation). On 31st December, 2001, FMC Corporation completed the spin off of FMC Technologies.

6. As per the Plaintiffs, in November, 2017, Plaintiff No. 1 along with its subsidiary company i.e. Plaintiff No. 2 acquired a significant portion of the Crop Protection business of E. I. Du Pont De Nemours and Company (hereinafter `Du Pont'). This acquisition included certain physical and IP assets around the world. One of the patents acquired by the Plaintiffs from Du Pont is the suit patent. The said patent was acquired vide assignment agreements with an effective date of 1st November, 2017 and was duly assigned to the Plaintiff Nos. 1 and 2.

7. The present suit patent relates to an intermediate stated to be used in the manufacture of one of the products sold by the Plaintiffs i.e. Chlorantraniliprole (`CTPR'), which is an insecticide product. The suit patent is a process/method patent, originally filed in the name of the Plaintiffs' predecessor Du Pont and thereafter assigned to the Plaintiffs vide the aforementioned assignment agreement. The bibliographic details of the suit patent are as under: