LegalAware
LegalAware.ai
EMPOWERING LEGAL AWARENESS

Conqueror Innovations Private Limited & Anr. vs. Xiaomi Technology India Private Limited

First Appeal from Order (Original Side, Commercial) · 2026:DHC:7584-DBDecided 3 Aug 2026New Delhi Bench
FAO(OS) (COMM) 147/2025CNR: DLHC010711982025
Justice V. Kameswar Rao · Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora

Background

The appellants owned a 2010 patent for a "Communication Device Finder System": anti-theft software meant to let an owner secretly track and recover a stolen phone even after a thief changes its SIM card. They sued Xiaomi, alleging its "Find Device" feature copied this invention, and sought an interim injunction against sale of Xiaomi phones in India. A single judge had earlier refused the injunction, finding no strong prima facie case of infringement.

Decision Breakdown

The Division Bench upheld the single judge's refusal. It found Xiaomi's "Find Device" (which can lock, ring, or wipe a lost phone) lacks two essential features of the patent: a permanently stored "message center number" enabling covert SMS communication with the phone, and a silent "auto-answer mode" letting the owner secretly listen to conversations near the stolen phone to help locate and recover it. The appellants had also sat on their rights for roughly nine years after Xiaomi began selling phones in India, weakening the case for urgent interim relief, particularly since the patent itself was due to expire within about six weeks of the ruling.

Lesson Learnt

To obtain an emergency injunction for patent infringement, a patent owner must show the accused product actually contains every essential technical feature of the patented invention, general similarity of purpose (both being "anti-theft" tools) is not enough, and long delay in suing can itself defeat urgent interim relief.

Search on eCourtsView Judgment (PDF)

More rulings in Intellectual Property Law

Intellectual Property LawDelhi High Court

Japan Tobacco Inc. & Anr. vs. The Central Warehouse & Anr.

The Court held that the petitioners had not established that they were the "first owner" of the original artistic work, which was a precondition for expunging the impugned registration. Because that point was not established, the Court considered the argument about alleged violation of Section 45(1) of the Act and Rule 70 of the Copyright Rules, 2013 to be academic and unpersuasive. It also held that the parties' authorities relied on were not relevant to this analysis. The petition was dismissed, with an express clarification that the observations about the earlier suit (CS(COMM) 644/2018) do not decide the merits of that suit.

Decided 5 Oct 2026Read case
Intellectual Property LawSupreme Court of India

I.S.D.S. Private Limited v. M/s Khemka Food Products Pvt. Ltd.

This is a referral order, not a final judgment. The Court found a conflict between two of its earlier decisions, Kandla Export Corporation v. OCI Corporation and Jaycee Housing v. Registrar, Orissa High Court, on this question. It referred the matter to a larger bench and stayed the underlying commercial suit until the reference is decided.

Decided 21 Sept 2026Read case
Intellectual Property LawDelhi High Court

ADS Spirits Pvt. Ltd. vs. The Registrar of Trade Marks

The Division Bench held that publication of a trademark under the Trade Marks Act only happens after an application is formally "accepted," and this application had not yet reached that stage. It agreed with the Single Judge's approach of sending the matter back to the trademark authorities for fresh, correct examination rather than the High Court deciding registrability itself, especially since the Registry was already re-examining the application per the earlier order. Finding no legal error, the appeal was dismissed.

Decided 15 Sept 2026Read case
Intellectual Property LawDelhi High Court

ITC Limited vs. The Assistant Controller of Patents and Designs & Ors. and connected matters

The High Court held that although the Controller's order deciding the two interlocutory petitions was framed somewhat confusingly, there was no real violation of fair procedure: ITC had been given adequate opportunities to respond at every stage, and the Patentee's later written submissions did not introduce anything genuinely new or unfair. The writ petition was dismissed alongside the connected appeal, with the Court finding no legal infirmity in how the patent opposition process was conducted.

Decided 10 Sept 2026Read case
Intellectual Property LawDelhi High Court

Hindustan Unilever Limited vs. Kwick Living (I) Private Limited

The Division Bench found that hoardings for the disputed advertising campaign had been put up in Delhi before the lawsuit was filed, and that Kwick Living itself had a GST-registered principal place of business in Delhi's Naraina Industrial Area and admitted selling its products there. On this basis, the Court held that Delhi's territorial jurisdiction was clearly established under Section 20(a) and 20(c) of the Civil Procedure Code. It allowed HUL to formally amend its plaint to record these two facts and sent the case back to the Single Judge to decide the interim injunction application on its merits, directing an expedited hearing.

Decided 2 Sept 2026Read case
Intellectual Property LawSupreme Court of India

Shabu KN Achary v. Dharampal Premchand Limited

The Supreme Court disagreed, holding that once the plaintiff's own affidavit asserted trademark and trade-dress infringement and claimed prior use of the brand, the defendant was entitled to test that claim by asking when the mark had actually been used - regardless of whether the defendant's written statement was formally on record. The Court reversed the High Court's order and directed that the trial proceed with the plaintiff recalled to answer the question, while clarifying it expressed no view on the merits of the underlying dispute.

Decided 7 Aug 2026Read case