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IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

Date of Decision: 5^thJuly, 2022

+

W.P.(C)-IPD 19/2022 & CM 68-69/2022

NOVO NORDISK A S

..... Petitioner

Through:

Mr. C.M. Lall, Sr. Advocate with Mr.

Sanjeev Kumar Tiwari, Ms. Deepa

Tiku,

Mr.

Amrish

Tiwari,

Mr.

Abhishek Jan & Mr. Shatadal Ghosh,

Advocates (M-7042079908)

versus

UNION OF INDIA & ORS.

..... Respondents

Through:

Mr. Rajshekhar Rao, Sr. Advocate,

Mr. Afzal Badr Khan, Mr. Samik

Mukherjee, Ms. Meherunnisa Anand

Jaitley

Advocates

for

R-4.

(M:9881880037)

Mr. Harish Vaidhyanathan Shankar,

CGSC, Mr. Srish Kumar Mishra, Mr.

Sagar

Mehlawat,

Mr.

Alexander

Mathai

Paikaday,

Advocates.

(M:7204711976)

CORAM:

JUSTICE PRATHIBA M. SINGH

Prathiba M. Singh, J(Oral)

1.

The present writ petition has been filed by the Petitioner/ Patentee-

Novo Nordisk (hereinafter ‘Patentee’) challenging the order dated 29th June

2022 passed by the ld. Deputy Controller of Patents & Designs (hereinafter

‘Deputy Controller’). The said order was passed by the ld. Deputy

Controller on the representation dated 13th May, 2022 made by the Patentee

in the post grant opposition proceedings qua patent no. IN257402.

2.

The said order on the representation, arises out of order dated 3rd

June, 2022 passed in W.P.(C)-IPD 14/2022 titled Sun Pharmaceutical

This is a digitally signed Judgement.

NEUTRAL CITATION NO: 2022/DHC/002470

Industries Ltd. v. Union of India and W.P.(C)-IPD 15/2022 titled Novo

Nordisk A S v. Union of India. In the said order, the Court issued directions

to the Patent Office in the following terms:

3.

The directions above were to the effect that the Patent Office would

decide the representation of the Patentee dated 13th May, 2022 and

thereafter proceed to hear the post-grant opposition on 1st July, 2022. The

Patent Office has now given its decision on 29th June, 2022 disposing of the

representation of the Patentee and fixing the matter for hearing of the post

grant opposition on 4th July, 2022. The Court has been informed today that

the hearing date has been changed to 20th July, 2022 at the request of the

Patentee.

Background:

4.

The brief background of this petition is that the Patentee filed

international patent application bearing no. PCT/DK2004/000792 on 18^th

This is a digitally signed Judgement.

NEUTRAL CITATION NO: 2022/DHC/002470

November,

2004

in

respect

of

certain

pharmaceutical

preparations.

Thereafter, Indian application bearing no. 2771/DELNP/2006 was filed on

17^thMay, 2006. The patent was finally granted on 4th October, 2013 being

IN 257402 titled “PROPYLENE GLYCOL-CONTAINING PEPTIDE

FORMULATIONS”.

5.

Post-grant oppositions under section 25(2) of the Patents Act, 1970

(hereinafter ‘Act’) came to be filed by Opponent/Respondent No.4 - M/s

Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. (through its predecessors) (hereinafter

‘Opponent’) as also by Respondent No.5- M/s USV Private Ltd. on 29th

September, 2014 i.e., five days before the time for limitation for filing of the

post-grant expired.

6.

The said post-grant oppositions have now become the subject matter

of multiple writ petitions filed by the parties and the situation as it stands is

that despite almost 8 years having passed since the filing of the post-grant

oppositions, the same continue to remain pending. A perusal of the list of

dates handed over by the ld. Senior Counsel shows that after the initial

submission of the notice of oppositions, the reply statements and affidavits,

multiple affidavits, cross replies, and various other miscellaneous petitions

have been filed by both the parties over the last few years.

7.

After completion of pleadings and filing of evidence by the parties,

the first recommendation of the Opposition Board was given on 21^stAugust,

2019 and the hearing of the post grant opposition under Rule 62(1) of the

Patent Rules, 2003 (hereinafter ‘Rules’) was scheduled on 25^thSeptember,

2019 and 26^thSeptember, 2019. Thereafter, the Patentee filed the affidavit of

an independent expert Prof. Daniel Erik Otzen which was tak