Author name: Anupriya Dhonchak

SpicyIP Weekly Review (August 23 – 29)

/ By / Copyright, COVID-19, Drug Regulation, Innovation, Patent, Trademark

Topical Highlight Sun Pharma v. Cipla: Madras HC Rejects COVID as an Excuse for Passing Off In this guest post, Kedar Ganesh Dhargalkar analyses the recent case of Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. v. Cipla Ltd., and the socio-legal opportunism of the defendants’ arguments for condonable trademark infringement, set in the backdrop of the ongoing global pandemic. The Defendant Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. allegedly infringed the Plaintiff Cipla Ltd.’s copyright and registered trademark by thrusting its deceptively similar goods and flooding the …

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Parliamentary Standing Committee Report on IPR – a Regressive View

/ By / Copyright

This post continues the discussion on Copyright Reform suggested by the Parliamentary Standing Committee Report on IPR, which Adyasha had discussed on the blog here. In a recent opinion piece in The Hindu (available behind a paywall here), Rahul and I discussed the Committee’s Report in context of the State’s obligations as part of the Right to Education. In this post, we are briefly highlighting some of the points we had made there, along with relevant excerpts: Nature of these …

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SpicyIP Weekly Review (August 9 – 15)

/ By / Copyright, COVID-19, Drug Regulation, Patent, Privacy, Trademark

Topical Highlight Ensuring Access to TB drugs: Is Compulsory License the Way? In this post, Rahul Bajaj and Praharsh Gour analayse the underutilisation of Indian patent law’s robust flexibilities to promote patient interest. They highlight that this failure is typified by the stark realities that have come to light in a pending public interest litigation before the Bombay High Court [BHC], regarding access to life saving drugs. They discuss the facts and figures surrounding multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in India as well as …

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SpicyIP Weekly Review (July 12 – 18)

/ By / Others

Topical Highlight The Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill 2021: Overbroad, Disproportionate and Unnecessary In this post, Adyasha analyses the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill 2021 (‘Bill’) which seeks ‘to tackle the menace of film piracy’, and is a revision of the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill 2019. She notes that the most controversial provision in the new Bill is the re-introduction of revisionary powers of the Central Government to direct the CBFC Chairman to reexamine an already certified film. She also highlights another surprising change i.e., …

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SpicyIP Weekly Review (June 28 – July 4)

/ By / Copyright, COVID-19, Drug Regulation, Overlaps in IP, Patent, Privacy, Trademark

Topical Highlight Delhi High Court Clarifies Law on Arbitrability of Trademark Disputes In this guest post, Rounak Doshi discusses the position of law on arbitrability of trademark disputes in light of the Delhi High Court’s recent decision in Golden Tobie Private Ltd. v. Golden Tobacco Ltd. He notes that the Court considered this dispute concerning the breach of a trademark licensing agreement as arbitrable and referred it to arbitration. He examines the Court decision and notes that the plaintiff relied upon …

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Students in a Classroom

Copyright Ownership in State Board Textbooks: Impediments to Accessibility

/ By / Copyright

Although education has the potential to be a significant leveller of inequalities, online education because of the pandemic, has brought into stark relief the digital divide and widening socio-economic inequalities in India. Of late, there have been multiple reported cases of suicides by students (see here and here) on account of lack of access to the means of education. Further, only around a quarter of Indian families have access to the internet, according to estimates. This percentage reduces to 15% …

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SpicyIP Weekly Review (June 21 – 27)

/ By / Copyright, Drug Regulation, Others, Patent, Trademark

Topical Highlight RMPL Registered as Copyright Society for Sound Recordings: But What about PPL, Transparency, and the Delays? In this post, Nikhil analyses Recorded Music Performance Limited (‘RMPL’) becoming the first copyright society to be granted a registration with respect to sound recordings, nine years after the 2012 amendments to the Copyright Act. He notes that the Phonographic Performance Limited India (‘PPL’) has also been attempting to obtain registration as a copyright society for the same kind of works. He …

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SpicyIP Weekly Review (May 10 – 16)

/ By / Copyright, COVID-19, Drug Regulation, Innovation, Patent, Privacy, Trademark

Topical Highlight Earning Royalties off Covaxin While Demanding IP Waiver at the WTO: Saviour on the Streets, Hypocrite in the Sheets In this post, I focus on the differential pricing of vaccines for Central and State Governments. I analyse the affidavit filed by the Central Government in the case titled, ‘In Re: Distribution of Essential Supplies and Services During Pandemic’. I highlight that currently, Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech are selling doses of Covishield and Covaxin to private …

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A frontline worker setting fire to funeral pyres at a cremation site.

Earning Royalties off Covaxin While Demanding IP Waiver at the WTO: Saviour on the Streets, Hypocrite in the Sheets

/ By / COVID-19, Data Exclusivity, Drug Regulation, Innovation, Overlaps in IP, Trade Secret

As news broke out on May 3, 20201 regarding the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) earning royalties out of every dose of Covaxin sold, many were quick to chide the government for embarrassing itself by profiting off vaccines sold in its own country while seeking a waiver of all IPRs on patents, copyright, industrial design and undisclosed information pertaining to vaccines for Covid-19 (covered previously on the blog here, here and here) at the WTO. In this post, I focus on the differential …

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SpicyIP Weekly Review (April 19 – 25)

/ By / Copyright, Drug Regulation, Innovation, Patent, Privacy, Trademark

Topical Highlight Compulsory License for Covid Drugs on the Table, Says Delhi High Court In this post, Swaraj discusses the recent Delhi High Court order in the case of Rakesh Malhotra v. Govt of National Capital Territory of India and Others, in light of the worsening pandemic situation in India. The Court hauled up the government on various issues regarding the response to the pandemic so far, concerning oxygen use, ramping up of testing facilities, shortage of drugs and black …

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