Interim Injunctions In Patent Infringement Suits

"Justice too long delayed is justice denied"

-Martin Luther King, Jr.,

Sterlite Technologies Ltd. ("Sterlite") owns Patent Nos. IN 241433 and IN 280211 relating to a unique method of producing optical fibres. Sterlite contended that ZTT India's ("Defendant") products were manufactured in such a way that it was imperative for them to use the technical parameters of Sterlite's process-patent technology. Sterlite filed a suit of patent infringement at the Delhi High Court alleging that the technical parameters of the Defendant's product could not be achieved without use of the methods prescribed in Sterlite's patented technology. Sterlite, inter alia, prayed to the Court to grant an interim injunction against the Defendant. Even before it could be ascertained whether the Defendant was using the patented method or not, the Court held that an interim injunction was a 'need of the hour'. The Court held that "the life of a patent is limited and further considering the