Blackberry Limited v. Assistant Controller of Patents and Designs

Blackberry Limited appealed the refusal of its patent application for "Administration of Wireless Systems." The Assistant Controller of Patents and Designs had refused the application on the grounds that the invention fell under Section 3(k) of the Patents Act, 1970, as it was considered a computer program acting purely as a set of instructions without inventive hardware features. The appellant argued that the invention had a technical effect and was not merely an algorithm. The court analyzed the claims and specifications, finding that the invention's core functionality relied on conditional logic and procedural steps, essentially an algorithmic process. The court concluded that while the invention had a technical contribution, it was fundamentally an algorithm, which is not patentable under Indian patent law. Result: Appeal for patent grant dismissed; Controller's refusal confirmed.