Delhi High Court orders patent office to decide Novartis ribociclib application within four months
Change
The Delhi High Court ordered India's Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks to decide Novartis AG's 2011 patent application for the breast cancer drug ribociclib and any oppositions within four months and to frame standard operating procedures that set fixed disposal timelines for patent applications.
Why it matters
The order removes the legal basis for indefinite administrative delay by requiring the patent office to adopt and follow binding internal deadlines for case disposal. Parties with pending applications or oppositions must now operate under shortened, enforceable timelines rather than open-ended review schedules.
Implications
- • India's Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks must draft and implement standard operating procedures that impose fixed disposal timelines for patent applications or face further court directions.
- • Patent attorneys and in-house intellectual property teams representing long-pending applicants must submit any outstanding evidence and accelerate prosecution to ensure their material is considered before court-mandated decision windows, or risk decisions being issued without that input.
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