At the outset, our apologies for the slightly delayed review! Our topical highlight of the week is Rajiv’s excellent post on Samsung’s favourable ruling against Apple from the U.S Supreme Court. He notes that in a crisp, 10 page, and unanimous order, the Court overruled the Federal Circuit decision, holding that an “article of manufacture” need not be the end product, as was argued by Apple, and instead agreed with Samsung, holding that it could be an intermediate product. In his post, Rajiv delves into the decision, as well as examines its ramifications on SEPs and the SSPPU principle.
As for our thematic highlight: Prashant brought us a post on the recent intertwining of Rice and IP. He first discusses the Basmati GI issue, the long running dispute between APEDA and the State of Madhya Pradesh, and on the inclusion of MP in the Basmati GI, now before the Madras High Court. He then brings up the ‘green rice mystery’, where a university in Raipur is in the process of registering new green varieties of rice discovered by two farmers, instead of the farmers registering the varieties themselves. In conclusion, he discusses a recent BBC article about the 50th birthday of a famous strain of rice called IR8.
Shan started off the week with the good news of the appointment of 458 Patent Examiners, 396 of whom have begun work. DIPP announced this change to commemorate World IP Day.
I was next with my post on the Madras High Court’s order in Susi Ganesan & Ors. V. Elango. The case deals with the copyright infringement of song lyrics, but dismisses the complaint without considering the merits of the matter. I note that the case should not have been so quickly disposed of, first – as there is no bar on maintaining both civil and criminal proceedings simultaneously; and second – that the court did not consider important aspects of copyright law that relate to the present matter. The question of a contract of service, and better adjudication on the significance of the quantum of the song used, leading to de minimis considerations should have been examined.
Pankhuri ended the week with her announcement on FICCI’s Online Certificate Course on Competition Law & IPR, for which the last date of registration is December 15, 2016. This course focuses on the on aspects of how modern day businesses protect and comply with IPR and Competition Laws. Please click here for details.
International Developments
