Pre-Grant Opposition: CSIR v Ms Hindustan Lever Limited

The article attempts to provide an overview of the pre-grant opposition against a patent application no 1219/DEL/2004 dated 30-06-2004 filed by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). The Pre-Grant Opposition was filed by M/s Hindustan Lever Limited by way of Representation u/s 25 (1) of Indian Patents Act, 1970. This resulted in the application being denied to CSIR, by the Assistant Controller of Patents & Design, Indian Patent Office (IPO), New Delhi. Subsequently, CSIR went on to file an appeal against the Order of Assistant Controller of Patents & Design at Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB), Chennai which ultimately resulted in the impingement of the decision of the Assistant Controller of Patents and Designs, IPO, New Delhi by the IPAB on 20-06-2013 and a direction to grant the Patent to CSIR was passed by IPAB, Chennai, and accordingly the Patent was granted to CSIR on 27-08-2015. This study provides an overview of the case, including comprehensive information on the Indian patent filing process, examination procedures, pregrant opposition, and strategies to address opposition. Furthermore, it presents a comparative analysis of similar cases, highlighting key legal interpretations, and offers suggestions for enhancing institutional IP due diligence processes and strengthening IP safeguards.