Bombay HC Orders Patent Office To Reconsider Scientist’s Application After 13-Year Delay

Mumbai, September 10, 2026: The Bombay High Court has observed that a 13-year delay in processing a scientist’s patent application had greatly reduced the 20-year period for which his invention could be legally protected. The court held that he was the sole owner of the invention and directed the Patent Office to reconsider his application on its merits.

Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan was hearing a petition filed by Dr Tarkeshwar Chandrakant Patil, the original inventor named in an IIT-Bombay patent application for an invention called “An Apparatus and a Method for In-Vivo Power Generation”.

The invention relates to a device and method for generating power to operate medical devices implanted inside the human body. Patil developed the technology while pursuing his PhD at IIT-Bombay. The patent application was filed in India in August 2013, with IIT-Bombay listed as the applicant.

Dispute Over Invention Ownership

The dispute concerned ownership of the invention. IIT-Bombay’s intellectual property policy generally gave the institute rights over inventions developed by its researchers. However, the court noted that the institute later executed a worldwide Deed of Assignment in Patil’s favour on July 3, 2017.

Through the deed, IIT-Bombay transferred its full and exclusive rights in the invention to Patil, including rights in India and other countries. The court held that the assignment made him the sole owner of the invention.

“There is no rational basis to contend that such an absolute assignment is valid for USA and countries foreign thereto, but excludes India,” the court observed in its order on September 8.

The court also noted that the invention had received two patents in the United States in Patil’s name. It said the Patent Office should have considered the assignment and Patil’s ownership claim while dealing with the Indian application.

Court Sets Aside Patent Rejection

The patent application remained pending for more than 13 years before it was rejected by the Deputy Controller of Patents and Designs in 2025. The High Court set aside the rejection, saying the application had not been properly examined on its merits.

“The Controller ought to have dealt with the merits on the facts writ large on the face of the record,” Justice Sundaresan said.

The court directed the Patent Office to restore the application, substitute Patil’s name as the applicant and hear the pending objections afresh. It ordered that a reasoned decision be issued within eight weeks.

Delay Cuts Protection Period

The matter has also raised concerns about the impact of delays in patent proceedings. Since patent protection generally lasts for 20 years from the filing date, the delay had consumed 13 years of the available protection period.

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The court directed the Patent Controller General to assign the matter to a senior officer who had not previously handled it. It clarified that its order did not mean the patent must be granted, but only that the application must be considered according to law and on its merits.

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