New Delhi, Feb. 26 -- The Delhi High Court has ruled that the expiry of a patent does not make a pending revocation petition meaningless. The Court ruled that a revocation plea can continue even after a patent has lapsed due to the passage of time.

A Division Bench of Justice C. Hari Shankar and Justice Om Prakash Shukla on Tuesday held, "A revocation petition would be maintainable, and would continue to survive, even after the patent of which revocation is sought expires by efflux of time."

Once revoked, the patent is "rendered ineffective and incapable of assertion ab initio," the court further clarified.

Background of the Case

The decision came in an appeal filed by Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG against an order permitt...