Delhi HC Fines Google Rs 1 Lakh for Misrepresentation

The Delhi High Court has fined Google Rs one lakh for giving incorrect information and not revealing that the European Patent Office (EPO) refused its patent. The court, led by Justice Prathiba M Singh, turned down Google's appeal and imposed the fine.

Google wanted a patent called "Managing Instant Messaging Sessions on multiple devices." But the court found that Google's application lacked new ideas. Google said it dropped the application before the EPO decided.
"Because Google's EU patent applications were also rejected for lacking new ideas, we're imposing costs," Justice Singh explained.

She added, "Google not only gave wrong facts but also hid that the EU parent application and its divisional application were refused."
The Assistant Controller of Patent and Design rejected Google's application because it didn't have new ideas.

Google challenged this before the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB). But when IPAB ended, the case went to the High Court.

The High Court agreed with the Controller, saying the patent idea was obvious and lacked new ideas. "The bottom line is, despite what Google said, the invention doesn't deserve a patent because it's not new. So, the appeal fails," the court concluded.