De minimis is a Latin expression that means “The law does not
concern itself with trifles”. The law will not resolve petty or
unimportant disputes. Courts have held that trifling may include
minor legal violations and would fall under the category of non-
actionable items and thereby it would serve as a good ground for
defence. There have been many instances when the courts have
dismissed the copyright infringement cases based on the
principle of De minimis that the alleged infringer’s use of the
copyrighted work is too insignificant. The violation of the law
may not be considered as a sufficient cause of action if the
effect is too small to be of much consequence. It is important
to remember that a patent application should consist of only one
invention. However, a person may file a group of inventions
which are claimed in one patent application, but the inventions
so linked should form a single inventive concept. The
application for patent shall be filed at the patent office along
with the respective forms.