Section 3(d) of the Indian Patent Act – Taking a blow at the WTO?
Section 3(d) of the Indian Patent Act, 1970 has been under the gun ever since it was introduced to the Act through an amendment in 2005. Foreign pharmaceutical companies have time and again failed to establish that the letter of this provision violates the TRIPS, and have, recently, in an aggressive move, tried to attack its validity by stating that the spirit of the section is not in compliance with the TRIPS. This move, which could hamper India’s pharmaceutical Industry, was effected by the…
MSD – Glenmark patent row – Court granted injunction against Glenmark
Close to two years after Merck filed a suit for injunction against Glenmark and after a quite a struggle, MSD has finally been granted an injunction and Glenmark has been restrained from making and marketing its versions of the drug. The Delhi High Court laid down a detailed analyses of the facts and came to the conclusion that the Glenmark had infringed MSD’s patented drug.
Cricket and Patents – These inventions will bowl you over!
Cricket has always been one of the most followed and loved sport in India. Statistics suggest that when India plays a big game, there are around 400 million watching the match on television. Indians love cricket, be it the IPL, T20, test match or the traditional 50 over match! With just 5 days to go for the World Cup Final, the excitement is building up and fans across the world are eagerly waiting to know who the champion will be!
Can food recipes be protected under intellectual property?
February 12, 2015Patents,Copyrights
Ever wanted to know the recipe for your favourite dish in a restaurant? Or wished that you could make Pringles at home? They wouldn’t be special or in demand anymore if you could do make it by yourself! This got me thinking on the best ways to protect food recipes and prompted me to write this article.
Of Companies, Directors and Ownership of Patents
The Bombay High Court recently decided on the issue of ownership of patents. The suit was filed by a minority shareholder against the company, its managing director and other directors because the patents devised using the R & D of the company was in the name of the director and not the company itself. At the outset, it seemed like a straight-forward case, however on reading the judgment, it was interesting to see how the Court took into consideration a number of other factors (which would…
The Curious Case of two Copied Patents and the Novelty of Transparency
The Calcutta High Court, in November had the opportunity to deal with a rather interesting patent dispute where one person tried invalidating a patent which was identical to his; when both of their patents seemed to be copied from a US Patent!
Revocation of patents in India – High Court clarifies position on Section 8
I had recently written about the importance of disclosing status of foreign applications to the Indian Patent Office and how non-compliance can result in revocation of patents under Section 64 (1) (m) of the Patents Act. The Delhi High Court on November 7, 2014 delivered a landmark ruling on Section 8 and clarified that non-compliance would not result in automatic revocation of patent and that the power of revocation under Section 64 (1) (m) was discretionary in nature.
Magic and Intellectual Property: Very Tricky!
October 8, 2014Patents,Copyrights
Magic tricks don’t cease to surprise and most often, they leave us befuddled with a lot of questions. But if we knew how the trick was performed, would we be as amused? Probably not. And that’s exactly why the magicians’ community thinks it is important to protect their tricks under the law. This is where intellectual property comes into play and the question is which branch of IP will protect magic tricks. In this article, I will discuss the patentability (if at all patentable),…
Importance of disclosing status of foreign applications to the Indian Patent Office under Form 3
September 30, 2014PatentsIndia,intellectual property,patent
Section 8 of the Patents Act, 1970 casts an obligation upon the applicant of a patent under this Act who is also prosecuting the same or substantially the same invention outside India, to disclose details regarding corresponding foreign applications from time to time. It was based on the suggestions of Ayyangar Committee Report that Section 8 was incorporated into the Patents Act. It was with a view to ensure that the Indian Examiners are in the know of the status of corresponding foreign…
Indian Patent Office extends deadline to submit comments on revised Guidelines for Examination of Pharmaceutical Patents
The Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks (CGPDTM) released a document titled the draft guidelines for examination of Patent applications in the field of pharmaceuticals on February 28, 2014 which was open for comments until March 31, 2014 which was eventually extended to April 4, 2014.