Controller of patent dismissed opposition against Bilcare patent

The Controller of Patents pronounced its decision of dismissing the two oppositions against Bilcare's (patent no 197823) on Metallized Packaging Films and uphold the validity of the said patent. The judgment was pronounced after multiple hearings from Mumbai Patent office and the Assistant Controller of Patents stated :"In view of my findings as above after careful consideration of statements, evidences and arguments at the hearing, the opposition is dismissed and the opponent shall pay to the applicant (the Patentee) the costs as annexed herein." "The costs to be paid to the Patentee by the opponents (Rs. 30, 000 in one case and Rs. 29,500 in another) included costs for irrelevant citations and documents".Bilcare had filed its patent application for its invention of metallized packaging films on March 03, 2004. The Controller of Patents granted the Patent No 197823 by sealing the patent on 29th December 2005. The invention related to a multi layer thermoformable, translucent PVC film with metallization to provide distinctive features for identity as well as effective anti-counterfeit solution. This novel film became an immensely valuable packaging material for the packaging of pharmaceutical products. The Indian pharmaceutical industry realized and appreciated the novelty and began using this film for packaging their products. Shelcal (a Calcium supplement manufactured by Elder Pharmaceuticals) became the first product in the world to use this novel packaging material. The metallized film created a distinctive identity for several widely used medicines.