High Court issues enjoining order in Kraft Liner Paper Sacks case

By S.S.Selvanayagam

The Colombo High Court issued an enjoining order operative till 18 November restraining the Director General of Intellectual Property from accepting or registering Patent application made by Uni Dil Paper Sacks (Pvt) Ltd. and the impugned inventor Don Bannet Gamalath in respect of industrial design relate to Kraft Liner Paper Sacks.

High Court Judge Rohini Walgama issued this order on an intellectual property litigation filed by M.H.M.Ajmal, the Chairman/Managing Director of QuikPak (Pvt) Ltd.

Romesh de Silva PC with Harsha Amarasekera and Neonal Pelpola instructed by G.G.Arulparagasam appeared for the Plaintiff Ajmal.

The plaintiff stated that a significant problem in traditional tea sack is the fact that they cannot be incinerated/burned or dumped with ease due to the aluminum foil layer used in their manufacture and thus contributes to industrial waste.

He claims that in order to address this issue, he in 2004 invented a three layer paper sack with metalised film, as opposed to aluminum foil, as a barrier against odour and moisture.

He also claims that his tea sack effectively cured the defect and problem which existed in respect of traditional paper sacks to pack tea, in that his multi wall paper sack was 100% bio degradable and thus eco friendly. He maintains that he is the registered owner of industrial design for a leafy rigid pack (wide valve) and a leafy rigid pack (centre open). He stated that the Uni Dil Paper Sacks (Pvt) Ltd. had made an application for the registration of a Patent with 2nd Defendant Gamalath has been named as the impugned inventor of the ‘improved method of filling system of tea containers’.

He complains that there is in truth and in fact no ‘invention’ in affixing a strip of Kraft Liner Board to the mouth of the sack to increase the strength of the mouth. He contends that the affixing a strip of Kraft Liner Board by the Uni Dil Paper Sacks (Pvt) Ltd. is not an ‘invention’ within the meaning of the Intellectual Property Act.