Viacyte Inc v. Deputy Controller of Patents and Designs

Brief facts

Viacyte appealed against the Deputy Controller's order refusing its patent application. The amended claim 1 was directed to a bioreactor but included process-dependent features, such as the formation of uniform cell aggregates under specific rotational conditions.

Issues before the Court

Whether the Controller rightly refused the application for insufficient disclosure and lack of clarity and definiteness of the claims under Sections 10(4) and 10(5).

Court's findings

A complete specification must describe the invention so that a person skilled in the art can understand and reproduce it; this disclosure is the core of the patent bargain. The application did not sufficiently describe the claimed invention and was vague and incomplete, contrary to Section 10(4).

Amended claim 1 was a mixed-category claim that improperly combined a product (a bioreactor) with process-dependent features, without clearly specifying the structural features of the claimed device. The asserted 'novel and inventive' element was merely a process variable that skilled persons routinely adjust, not a structural feature of the bioreactor. The claims were not clear, succinct and fairly based on the disclosure as Section 10(5) requires (paras 12-13).

The Controller had examined the claims and prior art and applied the statutory tests with adequate reasons; no infirmity, procedural irregularity or legal error was shown (para 14).

Decision

Appeal (IPDPTA 7 of 2025) dismissed; the order refusing the patent application was upheld.

Important paragraph references

Paras 12-13: sufficiency and definiteness; para 14: conclusion.

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