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2020 (11) TMI 1074 - HC - Indian LawsRevocation of leave granted to the appellant/plaintiff to sue them - infringement of patent of the appellant/plaintiff - HELD THAT:- Within the city of Madras, both the City Civil Court presided by District Judges has additional courts which is also and the High Court have jurisdiction to entertain civil suits relating to violation of Patent. Under Clause12 of the Letters Patent, a plaintiff may file a suit in the High Court before the Original Side when the cause of action has wholly or partly arisen within its territorial limits, notwithstanding the fact that the defendant may not be carrying on business within its territorial limits - Chartered High Courts governed by the Letters Patent have been given discretion to grant a leave to sue to the plaintiff/plaintiff under Clause 12 of the Letters Patent. Where either a part of cause of action arises within its jurisdiction or where the defendant(s) reside(s) outside its jurisdiction, the High Court exercises this discretion at the threshold even before the plaint is received for being numbered as a suit. Since the dispute in the present case pertains to the alleged violation of the patents of the appellant/plaintiff, the jurisdiction of Court under Clause 12 of the Letters Patent has to be read in conjunction with Section 104 of the Patents Act, 1970 and not in conjunction with Section 104A of the Patent Act, 1970. Section 104 of the Patent Act - Section 104A of the Patent Act, 1970 is not concerned with Jurisdiction of the Court. It is concerned with burden of proof in case of a process patent as is evident from a reading of Section 104A of the Patent Act, 1970. For granting leave, the Court should consider the grant of leave from the angle of Forum non conveniens/Forum conveniens. They are the relevant factor for the Court while either granting or revoking leave under Clause 12 of the Letters Patent. What exactly is the purport of Forum non conveniens/Forum conveniens and how it has been decided and considered have not been clearly spelled out by the domestic Courts in India - The object of the doctrine of Forum Non Conveniens is “to find that forum which is the more suitable for trying the suit to meet the ends of justice, and is preferable because pursuit of the litigation in that forum is more likely to secure those ends. The onus lies on the defendant to show that there exists another forum which is more appropriate to try the action. This appeal filed by the appellant/plaintiff is allowed.
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