Case Law Analysis
|Bombay High Court
Patent Prosecution Remand | Controller Barred from Introducing New Objections or Prior Art Beyond Original Record Under Natural Justice : Bombay HC
The Bombay High Court has ruled that a remand order issued to cure a breach of natural justice in patent examination cannot be used as a vehicle for the Controller to raise fresh objections or cite new prior art not present in the original file. This clarifies that remand is strictly procedural - meant to ensure fair hearing, not to restart prosecution with new grounds - protecting applicants from procedural ambush and reinforcing the integrity of patent examination.