Can Patents Shield You From Competition Law? | IP Conversations

Every country works under a multitude of laws, and sometimes the subjects of those laws overlap. But what happens when Patent Law meets Competition Law?

Read this IP Conversation to find out!

Hey IP Geek.

I heard that there was a recent Patent related court case that decided that Patent Law won over Competition Law. Can you tell me a little about that?

Hi John- I think you’re talking about the July 2023 judgement from the Delhi High Court.

To understand this case, we need to know about two competing laws – patents and competition.

Patents give inventors a monopoly on their invention, while competition law promotes free market competition by making sure that a single seller does not have complete monopoly over a product.

The case in question pitted patent holders and industry giants Ericsson and Monsanto against the Competition Commission of India, a tribunal which judges competition-related cases.

The Court decided that market dominance by patent holders could not be ruled on by the CCI, and any defaults would have to be judged on the basis of patent law.

What this means is that once your patent has been registered, the CCI can’t come after you on cases of market dominance arising out of the use of that patent.

I see; that’s what this case is all about, then.

Thanks for letting me know about this, IP Geek.