Patents
Perspectives on patents across India and the subcontinent.
21 August 2015
3D Printing and Intellectual Property: Who Owns What
Three separate rights sit in a 3D printed object — a patent in the printer, copyright in the CAD file, and a design in the end product. Working out who to sue when someone prints a replica means knowing which of the three has been taken.
Navarre Roy · 24 July 2015
University Patents: Can Your College Project Be Patented — and Who Owns It?
A genuinely novel student project can be patented — but the university usually owns it under its IP policy. What students should check about ownership, royalties, and being named as inventor.
2 July 2015
Patent Protection in India: An Introduction
Filing routes, convention priority, examination, opposition and revocation — the framework of Indian patent protection in outline, with the deadlines that have since changed clearly marked.
26 June 2015
Section 3(d) at the WTO: The 'Non-Violation Complaints' Threat
Section 3(d) blocks 'evergreening' by barring patents on new forms of known substances lacking enhanced efficacy — as Novartis found with Glivec. Now the US and Switzerland want to attack it at the WTO via 'non-violation complaints'. What's at stake for India's generics.
12 June 2015
Musical Instruments and IP: Design, Patent and Trademark
The look of an instrument, a genuine mechanical innovation, and the brand on the headstock are each protected by a different IP right. How design, patent and trademark protection apply to musical instruments.
Durga Bhatt · 25 March 2015
MSD v. Glenmark: Delhi HC Injuncts a Generic Sitagliptin
After a two-year fight, Merck (MSD) won an injunction restraining Glenmark's generic versions of its diabetes drug Sitagliptin. How the Delhi High Court found a prima facie case of infringement despite Markush-claim and Section 8 objections.
Nikita · 24 March 2015
Cricket and Patents: Five Inventions That Will Bowl You Over
India has filed over 50 patent applications for cricket techniques, gear and virtual games — the earliest a 1921 bat handle. A tour of five of the most inventive, and what they reveal about novelty in sport.
Nikita · 12 February 2015
Can Food Recipes Be Protected Under Intellectual Property?
You can't easily own a recipe — but you can protect it. How copyright, trade secrets and even patents apply to food, why Section 3(e) blocks 'mere admixtures', and the surprising Indian patents granted for food processes.
Nikita · 3 February 2015
How to Protect Intellectual Property in Mobile Applications
There's an app for everything — which means yours can be cloned. How different parts of a mobile app are protected by different IP rights: the name and logo by trademark, source code and UI by copyright, and novel functionality by patents where allowed.
22 December 2014
Companies, Directors and Who Owns the Patent
A minority shareholder sued because patents built on company R&D were filed in the managing director's name. The Bombay High Court dismissed the derivative suit — but the case is a sharp reminder to fix IP ownership in employment agreements from day one.
9 December 2014
Two Similar Patents, One Missed Prior Art: The Meter Seal Dispute
Two patents for electric meter sealing devices, both resembling an earlier US patent the Indian Patent Office never cited. The IPAB revoked the first; the Calcutta High Court sent it back, holding that transparency and a ribbed wire were real distinctions the Board had overlooked.
Nikita · 12 November 2014
Section 8 Non-Compliance Doesn't Auto-Revoke a Patent: Delhi HC
Does missing a Section 8 disclosure automatically kill your patent? The Delhi High Court said no — while Section 8 is mandatory, revocation under Section 64(1)(m) is 'may', hence discretionary. Courts must weigh whether the omission was deliberate or a bona fide slip.