Implications of Enercon India v. Aloys Wobben for Technology Theft in India?
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Abstract
On 2December 2010, in the case Enercon India v. Aloys Wobben the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (“IPAB”) at Chennai invalidated 12 of AloysWobben’s patents in India. The case received a lot of criticism in Germany and the IPAB was soon accused of bias and “technology theft”. The case, which is set in the energy sector but could very well be placed in the technology sector, deals with extremely interesting questions regarding intellectual property law and how a foreign company can operate and exit a joint venture with an Indian partner. At the heart of the matter are questions regarding Indian patent law, Indian civil procedure law and how a German company should act as a joint venture partner in India (and what it should not do). This article will initially analyze the decision of the IPAB and why the parties ended up in the legal dispute before the IPAB. Itwill then go on to examinewhether in fact there was a bias involved and will close with a general remark on joint ventures between German and Indian (technology) firms.
© 2013 by Verlag Dr. Otto Schmidt KG, Gustav-Heinemann-Ufer 58, 50968 Köln.
