Patents do not exhaust Trade Secrets – Scope of patent disclosure clarified

The Calcutta High Court has rejected the argument that patent infringement and breach of confidentiality cannot coexist. According to the Court, confidential information may continue to enjoy protection even where parts of technology are disclosed in a patent.

The High Court in this regard noted that there is no obligation on the patentee to disclose all information material to the patent. It was observed that the Patents Act only requires that the complete specification must describe the best method of performing the invention known to the applicant, including the one which he may have acquired during the period of provisional protection prior to the date of filing the complete specification.

The Court’s observations came in the context of petitioner’s allegation that a former senior employee, who had worked on the company’s specific patented process-technology and was bound by a non-disclosure agreement, had shared confidential information with a competing enterprise (respondent 1).

Holding that trade secrets and confidential business information deserve independent legal protection, the Court found a prima facie case warranting interim safeguards pending trial.

The High Court in Nocil Ltd. v. Finorchem Ltd. and Anr. [Judgement dated 7 October 2026] thus found prima facie material indicating breach of confidentiality and misuse of trade secrets, while also finding a prima facie case of infringement of petitioner’s process patents, based on various other factors. Interim protection in favour of the petitioner was consequently granted pending trial.