Public Interest Rules Against Injunction Again

Denial or grant of injunction in a patent infringement dispute in Indian courts or elsewhere on the ground of public interest is not a new trend. In fact, the trend of considering public interest in motion for preliminary injunction as the fourth element, in US courts, was earlier set in Pfizer v. Teva, 429 F.3d 1364 (Fed. Cri. 2005). In this case, the Court was caught between the elements of two competing public interests, viz., lower cost and public policy of patent grants. The Appeal Court found that granting the injunction was in the public interest, as the injunction would further the public policy inherent in patent laws, outweighing Ranbaxy's contention that the public interest favoured denying the preliminary injunction because the statutory framework under which Ranbaxy filed its ANDA makes low-cost generic drugs available to the public through increased competition.