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

Writ Petition (Civil) (IPD) · 2026:DHC:7730Decided 10 Sept 2026New Delhi Bench
W.P.(C)-IPD 25/2025, C.A.(COMM.IPD-PAT) 24/2025CNR: DLHC010220082025
Justice Jyoti Singh

Background

ITC Limited opposed a patent granted to Philip Morris Products for a "heated aerosol generating article with thermal spreading wrap" (a heat-not-burn tobacco product), arguing the invention was neither new nor inventive. During the opposition proceedings before the Patent Controller, disputes arose over whether the Controller had properly handled certain interlocutory applications ITC filed objecting to how Philip Morris's fresh written submissions were considered. ITC filed a writ petition challenging the dismissal of those interlocutory applications on grounds of unfair procedure.

Decision Breakdown

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.

Lesson Learnt

Courts will only step in to correct a patent office's procedural decisions through writ jurisdiction if there is a genuine, demonstrable violation of natural justice: mere disagreement with how submissions were treated is not enough.

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