Division Bench comprising S.M. Subramaniam* and C. Kumarappan, JJ., held that an intra-court appeal is not maintainable against a judgment passed in a Civil Miscellaneous Appeal under Section 117-A of the Patents Act, 1970 (‘Patents Act’)
Skip to content Bringing you the Best Analytical Legal News CONNECT NAVIGATION HomeCase BriefsIntra-Court Appeal Not Maintainable In Patent Disputes; Commercial Courts Act Overrides Letters Patent Of High Court: Madras High Court Intra-court appeal not maintainable in patent disputes; Commercial Courts Act overrides Letters Patent of High Court: Madras High Court “Any expansion of the scope of the Commercial Courts Act would defeat its objectives, and there is no ambiguity regarding appeals from decrees of Commercial Courts and Commercial Divisions under Section 13 of the Commercial Courts Act.” Published on December 20, 2025By Soumya Yadav Advertisement Madras High Court: In an appeal filed under Clause 15 of the Letters Patent, challenging the rejection of a patent application, the Division Bench comprising S.M. Subramaniam* and C. Kumarappan, JJ., held that an intra-court appeal is not maintainable against a judgment passed in a Civil Miscellaneous Appeal under Section 117-A of the Patents Act, 1970 (‘Patents Act’)
, since appeals in commercial disputes are governed exclusively by Section 13 of the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 (‘Commercial Courts Act’). Observing that the Commercial Courts Act expressly overrides the Letters Patent, the Court upheld the Registry’s objection and rejected the appeal. Background: The dispute arose from the rejection of a patent application by the Deputy Controller of Patents under Section 15 of the Patents Act. An appeal was filed under Section 117-A of the Patents Act before a Single Judge of the Court, who dismissed the appeal. Thereafter, an Original Side Appeal was instituted under Clause 15 of the Letters Patent. The Registry raised an objection regarding maintainability, stating that it must be clarified how an Original Side Appeal (‘OSA’) is maintainable under Clause 15 against a judgment passed in a Civil Miscellaneous Appeal. Counsel for the appellant contended that the order of a Single Judge in the Civil Miscellaneous Appeal is to be construed as an order in-original, and therefore an intra-court appeal would lie under Clause 15 of the Letters Patent. It was further argued that the Single Judge had decided the correctness of the order passed by the Deputy Controller of Patents under the Patents Act, and hence an intra-court appeal would lie akin to that of an order passed in a writ petition. Counsel relied on Section 13 of the Commercial Courts Act, submitting that disputes relating to patents are defined as “commercial disputes” and therefore the appeal was filed as an OSA (Commercial Appellate Division). Analysis and Decision: The Court emphasised that in the absence of any provision for intra-court appeal, no appeal would lie. The Court noted that Section 117-A of the Patents Act contemplates appeal against the order passed by the authority under the Patents Act, and that such appeal had already been entertained and adjudicated by the Single Judge. The Court highlighted that Section 13 of the Commercial Courts Act is a special enactment and would prevail over the Letters Patent. The Court observed that Chapter IV of the Commercial Courts Act provides for appeals, and Section 13(1) of the Commercial Courts Act enumerates that an aggrieved person may prefer an appeal to the Commercial Appellate Division of the High Court against the judgment or order passed by the Commercial Division of the High Court. However, the proviso denotes that the appeal shall lie only from such orders specifically provided under Order XLIII of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908 or Section 37 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. The Court further noted that Section 13(2) of the Patents Act makes it clear that notwithstanding anything contained in any other law or Letters Patent of a High Court, no appeal shall lie otherwise than in accordance with the provisions of the Act. The Court observed that any expansion of the scope of the Commercial Courts Act would defeat its objectives, and there is no ambiguity regarding appeals from decrees of Commercial Courts and Commercial Divisions under Section 13 of the Commercial Courts Act. The Court reiterated that there is no scope to invoke Clause 15 of the Letters Patent for the purpose of entertaining the present OSA. Therefore, the Court concluded that the objection note raised by the Registry regarding maintainability was in consonance with the provisions of law and therefore stands affirmed. Consequently, the OSA was rejected. [ITALFARMACO SPA v. Controller of Patents & Designs, OSA (CAD) SR. No. 72443 of 2025, decided on 12-12-2025] *Judgment authored by: Justice S.M. Subramaniam Advocates who appeared in this case: For the Appellant: Arun C. Mohan For the Respondent: S. Diwakar, CGSPC Buy Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 HERE Related Letters patent appeal against the judgment of the Single Judge in an international arbitration matter is maintainable before the Division Bench September 30, 2016 In “Case Briefs” No Appeal lies u/s 117-A of Patents Act 1970 against an Order passed u/s 21(1): Bombay HC reiterates May 10, 2024 In “Case Briefs” Madras High Court affirms rejection of IIT-M Patent on ‘Method of Doping Potassium’, for lack of inventive step June 19, 2024 In “Case Briefs” Tags : Clause 15 Letters Patent Deputy Controller of Patents intra-court appeal barred intra-court appeal in patent disputes Italfarmaco Justice C. Kumarappan Justice S.M. Subramaniam Madras High Court maintainability of appeal Section 117-A Patents Act Section 13 Commercial Courts Act Leave a comment Post navigation PREVIOUS STORY Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas is acting as Indian legal counsel to PTC Inc. on the sale of its Kepware and ThingWorx businesses NEXT STORY Continued online circulation of arrest reports after discharge violates Right to Dignity; Delhi High Court upholds interim de-indexing against Media House MOST READ 24 hours 7 days All time Case Briefs Supreme Court Appellate Deposit under Section 148 NI Act: Whether can be directed against Convicted Director or Confined to Juristic Drawer? Supreme Court Larger Bench to Decide Case Briefs High Courts “More than 16 years have passed but this project is still slow in progress”: Read why Allahabad HC issued directions for implementation of Inter-Operable Criminal Justice System Law Firms News News Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co. advises Nephrocare Health Services Limited on its Initial Public Offering Case Briefs Tribunals/Commissions/Regulatory Bodies ‘Financial debt exceeded minimum threshold’: NCLT admits insolvency application against Sparklet Engineers Private Ltd. Case Briefs High Courts Continued online circulation of arrest reports after discharge violates Right to Dignity; Delhi High Court upholds interim de-indexing against Media House Case Briefs High Courts Intra-court appeal not maintainable in patent disputes; Commercial Courts Act overrides Letters Patent of High Court: Madras High Court Join The Discussion Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. Subscribe to our Newsletter Get weekly latest news and updates in your e-mail News Submissions blog@scconline.com Article Submissions articles@scconline.com Download SCC Online App for Android Users/IOS Users Disclaimer : The content of this Blog are for informational purposes only and for the reader’s personal non-commercial use. The views expressed are not the personal views of EBC Publishing Pvt. Ltd. and do not constitute legal advice. The contents are intended, but not guaranteed, to be correct, complete, or up to date. EBC Publishing Pvt. Ltd. disclaims all liability to any person for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions, whether arising from negligence, accident or any other cause. © 2025 EBC Publishing Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. EN × …
