CS(COMM) 327/2021

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*

IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

Reserved on: 14^th February, 2022

Date of Decision: 17^th February, 2022

+

CS(COMM) 327/2021 & I.As. 8543/2021, 8544/2021 11759/2021,

16302/2021, 148/2022

SOTEFIN SA

… Plaintiff

Through:

Mr. Chander M. Lall, Senior Advocate

with Mr. Monish Panda, Mr. Bhavin

Gada, Mr. Ayush Shanna, Ms. Mehak

Gupta, Ms. Ananya Chug and Mr.

Prabjot Hora, Advocates.

versus

INDRAPRASTHA CANCER SOCIETY AND

RESEARCH CENTER & ORS.

….

Defendants

Through:

Mr. Neeraj Malhotra, Senior Advocate

with Ms. Mansi Bajaj, Mr. Nimish

Kumar

and

Ms.

Nidhi

Tyagi,

Advocates for D-1 and 2.

Mr. S. D. Singh, Advocate with Mr.

Rahul Kumar Singh, Jitender Singh,

Ms. Meenu Singh and Mr. Siddharth

Singh, Advocates for D-3.

Mr.

Saikrishna

Rajagopal,

Mr.

Dhavish Chitkara, Ms. Julien George,

Mr. Skanda Shekhar and Ms. Parvati

N., Advocates for D- 4.

CORAM:

HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE SANJEEV NARULA

JUDGMENT

[VIA VIDEO CONFERENCING]

SANJEEV NARULA, J.:

This is a digitally signed Judgement.

NEUTRAL CITATION NO: 2022/DHC/000595

CS(COMM) 327/2021

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I.A. 8543/2021 (u/ Order XXXIX Rules 1 and 2 r/w Section 151 of the Code

interim injunction)

1.

The Plaintiff, on the basis of an exclusive license for right of use and

exploitation in its favour, has filed the present suit seeking permanent

injunction for restraining infringement of Indian Patent 214088 dated 13^th

March 2002 titled ‘Carriage for the horizontal transfer of motor vehicles in

automatic mechanical car parks’ [hereinafter referred to as ‘suit patent’].

This invention relates to a self-propelled carriage on wheels, for horizontal

transfer of motor vehicles by lifting two or more wheels, in single or multi

automatic mechanical car parks. It is commonly known as a ‘Dolly’ or a

‘Silomat Dolly’ [The Plaintiff’s product shall be hereinafter referred to as the

‘Silomat Dolly’].

2.

By way of the instant application, pending adjudication of the suit,

Plaintiff seeks interim injunction, restraining defendants from inter alia

making or importing any product that infringes the Silomat Dolly.

BRIEF FACTS

3.

The suit patent was filed on 13^th March 2002 by Sotefin Patents SA

(formerly known as Sotefin SA) and has been continuously used in India ever

since, and is expiring on 13^th March 2022. Plaintiff is a wholly-owned

subsidiary of Sotefin Patents SA and was granted an exclusive license to the

suit patent through various agreements with Sotefin Patents SA, beginning

from 2010. The Sotefin group of companies are market leaders in the

designing and manufacturing of automated car parking systems and the

This is a digitally signed Judgement.

NEUTRAL CITATION NO: 2022/DHC/000595

CS(COMM) 327/2021

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technology in the suit patent is protected in various countries such as the USA,

European Patent, Canada, and Australia, and has not been challenged in India

since grant of suit patent.

4.

On 10^th December 2011, Plaintiff entered into a supply contract with

Simplex Projects Limited (Defendant No. 3) – a company also involved in the

business of automatic parking systems – for the supply of fourteen patented

‘Silomat Dollies’ for the total amount of €6,88,000/- (Six Lakhs Eighty-Eight

Thousand Euros only). They also entered into a separate agreement on the

same date for supply of drawings of the automatic parking system to

Defendant No. 3, which were duly transferred online, as well as sent

physically sometime in 2012. Defendant No. 3 was to keep all information

related to the know-how and technology provided by the Plaintiff in relation

to the suit patent, including all drawings and all technical information, strictly

confidential and not disclose to third parties.

5.

Indraprastha Cancer Society & Research Centre (Defendant No. 1) is a

not-for-profit pu