Insights
Practical perspectives on protecting, managing and enforcing intellectual property across India and the subcontinent.
18 February 2020
Pre-Grant Patent Opposition in India: Grounds and Procedure
Anyone can challenge a patent application before it's granted. A guide to pre-grant opposition under Section 25(1) — who can file, the eleven statutory grounds, and the step-by-step procedure before the Controller.
4 December 2019
The India–Japan PPH Guidelines: How the Scheme Actually Works
The IPO published its PPH procedure guidelines days before requests opened — five chapters covering eligibility, documents and deadlines, with a cap of 100 cases a year and ten per applicant. Of the first hundred requests, forty-four were rejected as ineligible.
Adyasree Prakriti · 27 November 2019
The India–Japan Patent Prosecution Highway
India's first PPH arrangement lets an applicant whose claims were found patentable in Japan obtain accelerated examination in India, and vice versa. For a jurisdiction where examination delay is the perennial complaint, that is the substantive benefit.
21 October 2019
Trademark Law and Cultural Appropriation: The Remedies (Part II)
When a corporation trademarks an aspect of a community's heritage, what can that community do? A rundown of the tools under Indian trademark law — absolute-grounds refusal, collective marks, opposition, cancellation and suits — and why they come at a premium.
11 October 2019
No Patent, No Infringement: Novartis v. Natco on Ceritinib
Natco launched its product while a post-grant opposition was pending, then the Opposition Board reversed itself and the patent was revoked. The Delhi High Court held that an injunction cannot survive the patent — rights in a patent subsist only during its lifetime.
1 October 2019
Adding Subtitles Is Not an Alteration: Bombay HC Strikes Down a CBFC Notice
The CBFC required film-makers to sign an undertaking where a film was certified without subtitles, treating later subtitling as an alteration needing fresh scrutiny. The Bombay High Court held the notice unsustainable — subtitles are reported, not re-certified.
30 September 2019
Trademarks and Cultural Appropriation: Who Owns 'Hakuna Matata'?
Kim Kardashian withdrew an application to register 'Kimono' after public backlash. Disney holds 'Hakuna Matata' for clothing. The objections are understandable — but the questions they raise about who owns a cultural asset have no settled answer.
24 September 2019
Celebrity Endorsements and the ASCI Guidelines
ASCI's 2017 guidelines put a due diligence duty on celebrities themselves — claims must be substantiable, opinions genuine, and prohibited products off limits. Complaints against Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni and Alia Bhatt advertisements were all upheld.
17 September 2019
Model IPR Guidelines for Academic Institutions: Who Owns Campus Innovation?
CIPAM's draft model guidelines give academic institutions a framework for IP created on campus — default institutional ownership of resource-backed inventions (with author-owned scholarly copyright), revenue-sharing with researchers, startup-friendly reassignment, and open-source encouragement.
9 September 2019
An Overview of Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) and FRAND
The QWERTY keyboard, cellular connectivity — some patents are unavoidable if you want to make standard-compliant products. What Standard Essential Patents are, how SSOs and FRAND licensing work, the challenges (royalty base, no guidelines), and the key Indian and US cases.
3 September 2019
The 'Essential Feature' Doctrine: When One Word Decides Infringement
'MAXCURE' infringed 'MAX' because 'MAX' was the essential, source-identifying feature of the plaintiff's marks. How Indian courts isolate the dominant element to decide trademark infringement.
26 August 2019
IP and MSMEs: Bridging the Gap
MSMEs generate a large share of India's innovation and protect very little of it. The obstacles are cost and a perception that IP is complex — both of which are addressed by schemes and fee concessions most MSMEs do not know exist.