In a landmark judgement on Patent Law in India, Justice Jyoti Singh of the Delhi High Court has granted an unprecedented amount of Rs 217 Crores (USD 26.1 Million) as compensatory damages for lost profits to the Plaintiff, namely Communication Components Antenna Inc., a Canadian enterprise, against Mobi Antenna Technologies (Shenzhen), a Chinese Corporation.
In a detailed ruling issued by the Delhi High Court on 16 May 2024, the Hon’ble Court, after relying on the pleadings and evidence led by both the parties, found the Defendants to be infringing the Plaintiff’s intellectual property rights in its Indian Patent No. IN240893.
The Court was hearing a patent infringement suit filed by CCAI against Mobi for infringing a patent granted for an invention called ‘Asymmetrical Beams for Spectrum Efficiency’ in telecommunication antennas. As per the Suit, CCAI had asserted that novelty of the patent was in the fact that by changing the beam pattern, greater efficacy in the usage of spectrum could be achieved.
The Court determined that the damages had to be paid on the basis of lost profits from lost market share. Accordingly, based on the evidence led, it estimated the lost market share of CCAI to be 47,355 units and the profit per unit to be USD 550.
Based on this, the Court arrived at a figure of Rs 2,17,47,78,375 (approximately Rs 217 crores, which is equal to approximately USD 26.1 Million) as the lost profits of CCAI.
This judgement demonstrates the Delhi High Court’s rigorous approach to upholding the rights in intellectual property, and awarding damages to compensate the loss caused to the right holder. This judgement provides much-needed assurance to right-holders that an infringer cannot merely trample over intellectual property rights. One of the primary takeaways from this litigation concerning IP rights is the successful monetization of intellectual property by way of grant of compensation and damages. This is pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for the right-holder!
Commenting on the judgement, Sidhant Goel, Senior Partner at Sim And San, Attorneys at Law stated, “We are all elated with the outcome. It is truly a watershed moment in Indian jurisprudence as regards grant of compensatory damages for lost profits. This judgement is expected to lend guidance on the evidentiary standards of assessment and grant of compensatory damages on the basis of lost market share.”
Communication Components Antenna Inc. was represented by Sidhant Goel, Mohit Goel, Aditya Goel and Deepankar Mishra from Sim And San - Attorneys at Law, and was led by J. Sai Deepak, Advocate.
Mobi Antenna Technologies was earlier represented by Advocates from Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co., who, due to lack of instructions from Mobi, had sought discharge from the matter in the year January 2022.
_20240705193225_original_image_35.webp)
