A three-member apex court bench chaired by Justice Rhodzariah Bujang ruled on Monday that Petronas Carigali failed to meet the threshold set under Section 96 of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964 for the appeal to be heard on its merits.

Leave is granted only if the court is satisfied that the legal questions put forward for its determination raise novel issues of public importance that have not yet been determined.

The bench, which included Justices Nazlan Ghazali and Azimah Omar, also ordered Petronas Carigali to pay Kingtime International Ltd RM50,000 in costs.

Last September, the Court of Appeal overturned a High Court ruling and entered judgment in favour of Kingtime, ruling that Petronas Carigali had infringed its patents.

The appellate court also struck out Petronas Carigali’s countersuit seeking to invalidate the two patents.

In its decision, the Court of Appeal ruled that Petronas Carigali was bound by a previous court ruling which found that Petrofac E&C Sdn Bhd – a long-time Petronas contractor and manufacturer of the Mopu – had infringed Kingtime’s patents.

Delivering the decision, Justice Faizah Jamaludin said the Court of Appeal had found sufficient nexus between Petronas Carigali and Petrofac.

This was based on contractual arrangements for the design, engineering, and construction of the Mopu – a converted offshore oil rig used for oil and gas production in the Sepat oil field, about 200km off Kuala Terengganu.

Faizah said Petronas Carigali was not permitted to relitigate issues relating to Kingtime’s patents, including whether the Sepat Mopu had infringed them.

The case has been remitted to the High Court for assessment of damages, with Petronas Carigali also told to refund RM800,000 in costs paid by Kingtime pursuant to the overturned court order.

Kingtime brought its suit in the High Court in 2018.

The High Court dismissed the suit but allowed Petronas Carigali’s counterclaim invalidating the two Kingtime patents.

The ruling was overturned by the Court of Appeal.