CIENA CORPORATION vs UNION OF INDIA & ORS.

Judgment text excerpt

$~27 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI % Date of decision: 07th March, 2025 + W.P.(C)-IPD 15/2025 & CM 49-51/2025 CIENA CORPORATION .....Petitioner Through: Mr. Samar Bansal, Mr. K. Rigved Prasad, Mr. Aman Bajaj, Mr.Kaustubh Chaturvedi and Mr. Vedant Kapur, Advocates versus UNION OF INDIA & ORS. .....Respondents Through: Mr. Gaurav Barathi, SPC with Ms. Mamta Tiwari, G.P. with Ms. Rasya Rawal, Advocate for UOI & CGPDT, R-1 & R-2 CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AMIT BANSAL AMIT BANSAL, J. (Oral) 1. This writ petition has been filed seeking setting aside of the letter dated 16th February, 2024, passed by respondent No.2 in the PCT National Phase Application No.202017034476, whereby, the patent application filed on behalf of the petitioner has been deemed to be abandoned (hereinafter “Abandonment Letter”). 2. In view of the limited issue involved in the present petition, with the consent of the parties, the petition is taken up for disposal at this stage itself. Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed W.P.(C)-IPD 15/2025 Page 1 of 7 By:KOMAL DHAWAN Signing Date:12.03.2025 12:30:38 3. Brief facts necessary for deciding the present petition are set out below:- i. The present Indian patent application pertains to ‘Modular Network Element Architecture’, a new type of modular network element invented by the employees of the petitioner in the year 2018. The invention is a physical hardware having networking, computing and storage functions, and is in the nature of a hybrid between a rack- mounted module and a line module which is inserted in a chassis. ii. On 23rd April, 2018, the petitioner filed the priority Patent Applications bearing no.15/959,746, 15/959,820 and 15/959/869 in the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). iii. On 9th April, 2019, petitioner filed