In Brief
Monsanto Technology LLC sued Nuziveedu Seeds for patent infringement of a registered patent (No. 214436) covering genetically modified Bt cotton technology involving nucleic acid sequences (NAS). After a sub-licence agreement was terminated, the defendants countered that the patent was invalid under Section 3(j) of the Patents Act (plants excluded from patentability). While the Single Judge granted conditional injunction pending trial, the Division Bench summarily rejected the patent as unpatentable. The Supreme Court held that the Division Bench wrongly disposed the suit without evidence or expert testimony on complex biotechnological issues. The Court set aside the Division Bench order, restored the Single Judge's decision, and remanded the case for full trial on all issues of patentability, infringement, and other reliefs.
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