PATENT RIGHTS STRENGTHENED: DONG YANG WINS KEY APPEAL ON SIMPLE BUT NOVEL INVENTION "simple invention is patentable if it is novel, non-obvious, and addresses a technical problem with ingenuity."

 

In Dong Yang PC, Inc. v. Controller of Patents and Designs [C.A. (COMM.IPD-PAT) 60/2024], the Delhi High Court, led by Justice Mini Pushkarna, emphasized that even a simple invention is patentable if it is novel, non-obvious, and addresses a technical problem with ingenuity.

The case concerned a Vertical Rotary Parking System designed to reduce noise through smoother motion, less friction, and fewer contact points. The Controller had rejected the patent application, stating it lacked inventive step and offered no technical advancement over prior art. The invention was dismissed as a mere workshop modification involving the reversal of male and female portions in the pull gear and suspension chain.

However, the Court disagreed, stating the Controller had not demonstrated how the invention lacked technical advancement or why it would be obvious to a person skilled in the art. Citing the Avery Dennison judgment, the Court highlighted that a key test for inventiveness is the time gap between prior art and the new invention. Here, despite the prior art being from the appellant, the absence of similar third-party innovations over time indicated non-obviousness.

The Court found that labeling the improvements as “mechanical” did not meet the legal threshold and the Controller’s reference to “common general knowledge” was vague and unsupported. It emphasized that simplicity is not a bar to patentability and that even minor changes can lead to a new invention if they solve a technical problem with ingenuity.

Finding the Controller’s order lacking proper analysis and justification, the Court held it unsustainable and directed the patent application to be re-examined.