Trident Limited Granted Patent For “Fabric and Method of Manufacturing Fabric” by European Patent Office

The flagship company of the Trident Group headquartered in Punjab, Trident Limited, which mainly deals with the manufacture of textiles and paper has been granted a patent for “Fabric and Method of Manufacturing Fabric” by the European Patent Office (EPO). The grant of the patent was published in the European Patent Bulletin on 13.01.2021. In its Press Release, Trident’s statement can be quoted as, “The present invention comprises a method of producing fabric by subjecting the fabric to a special treatment, thereby obtaining increased air space in the resultant fabric. This will help the company to deliver its special soft towels without the usage of any chemical-based fibers enabling it to save the environment and at the same time to deliver its soft luxury towels in European Market.”[1]

The patent has been granted for a method of manufacturing the terry fabric, which is commonly used for making towels, and the resultant fabric. The said method of manufacturing as per the Patent Specification document improves the porosity, absorbency, softness, and wettability of the terry fabric, in an environment-friendly manner. The patent, which was filed in 2016, consists of five steps of the manufacturing process which then produces a fabric with interspaces or pores within a yarn of the fabric, thereby resulting in increased air space in the resultant fabric.[2]

The granting of a patent by the European Patent Office consists of certain examination procedures. An application filed at the EPO might consist of a request for a grant, a description of the said invention, claims, and drawings or diagrams if any. The filing of this application is followed by an examination on the said filing to check the necessary documentation and information, and a formal examination regarding the formal aspects of the application. These examinations are followed by a mandatory search post in which the application, as well as the search report, are published. Subsequently, after the publication, the applicants request for a substantive examination during which the examining division decides upon the granting or refusal of a patent. After the publication of the grant of patent in the Bulletin published by the EPO, a notice of opposition to that patent may be given by anyone within nine months. In the present discussion, the request for examination was made in 2018 by the applicant Trident Limited for Application Number 16202403.8 and the intention to grant the patent was communicated in October 2020. The grant of the patent was published on the 13^th of January, 2021.

The grant of this patent to Trident Limited will prove to be beneficial to the company with respect to its textile manufacturing business. The grant of a patent with respect to technical innovation in textiles adds to the weaponry of companies dealing in the business of textiles and thereby serves as a mark of recognition of being ahead of its competitors. The company’s shares gained on the day of its announcement of the grant of the patent, 15.01.2021, as its stock rose to 3.9 percent on the Bombay Stock Exchange.^[3] The company in its statement regarding the grant of the patent said that it provided further recognition to the company’s quality of innovation.

Author: Aakaanksha Akella (intern), and Suvangana Agarwal  Litigation Associate at Khurana & Khurana, Advocates and IP Attorneys.  In case of any queries please contact/write back to us at [email protected].