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How Indian courts read a claim
Delhi High Court · 2019 · CS(COMM) 1222/2018, interim judgment July 2019
What happened
A patentee holding a patent on asymmetrical beams for spectrum efficiency in cellular antennas sought an interim injunction.
What the fight was about
Whether the patent was prima facie valid against attacks under several clauses of section 3, and how the claim word replacing should be construed.
What the court decided
The patent was held prima facie valid, with divergences between the Indian and corresponding foreign claims treated as clarificatory rather than as substantive limitations. On infringement the Court applied purposive construction, holding that replacing covered both replacement of existing antennas and fresh installation of asymmetrical-beam antennas. An interim injunction was granted, with a deposit of a percentage of sales as security.
Why an inventor should care
How a single word in a claim is read can decide the whole case. That word was chosen years earlier, by a drafter, in a document nobody was reading carefully.
What a patent professional should take from it
One of the more useful Indian authorities on purposive construction. It also illustrates the risk of relying on foreign claim wording differences to argue narrower scope in India.
Claims are read purposively, through the eyes of the skilled person - not literally, and not from the marketing.
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This is an editorial case note prepared by Ragulika IP - a summary of a decision, not the text of the judgment, and not authority. Read the judgment itself before relying on any point.
Sources & further reading
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The honest answer usually needs someone to look at your actual disclosure, your timeline and the prior art. That is a conversation, not an article.
Educational guidance, not legal advice. This material is published by Ragulika IP for general education and information. It is not legal advice, it does not create a professional-client relationship, and it is not a substitute for advice on your own facts. Patentability, infringement, prosecution strategy and every other IP outcome turn on the specific facts and on the law and Patent Office practice as they stand at the time you act. Please take professional advice before making a decision, and read the underlying provision or judgment before relying on any point stated here.
Last reviewed by Ragulika IP on 2026-08-23. Indian patent law and Patent Office practice change; check the position before you rely on it.