A proprietor from a Chennai based private enterprise held that the plaintiff had made out a case as MIDHANI was selling the prosthesis at INR 39,200, whereas the private enterprise sold it for INR 1.36 lakh each.

Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited also known as, MIDHANI founded in 1973 placed in Hyderabad. Midhani, specialized in manufacturing Super alloys, Titanium and Titanium alloys, Special Purpose Steels and other specialized metals and alloys for applications in aerospace, defense, nuclear energy, and other hi-tech industries. They stated, “It began making prosthesis as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility initiative undertaken at the instance of former President Mr A P J Abdul Kalam.”

The Judge, Mr V Ramasubramanian stated that,

“If we see the history of prostheses since their emergence in 1951, the noted implants had undergone slender advancements from time to time to make them sync with human anatomy and turn them into perfect replacements for the natural bone and knee joints. The plaintiff had made contribution in making it useful in a novel way. He was certainly entitled to a valid patent. But the defendants were also entitled to the benefit of dissimilarities that existed between their prosthesis and the plaintiff’s prosthesis.”

The judge who dismissed a suit also added that “The distinguishing features of the MIDHANI product may not qualify their product for a valid patent registration. But they will certainly provide a shield for a defendant against an action in infringement of the patent.”

By Akshatha Karthik

Source – PTI