Author name: Devika Agarwal

Devika is a Policy Analyst at Nasscom. She first started writing on Spicy IP in 2013 when she was awarded the Spicy IP Fellowship, which sparked her passion for writing on IP. Devika is interested in copyright and technology law.

SpicyIP Tidbit: Comments invited in respect of draft IPR policy

/ By / Others

In early November, we had reported that an IPR think tank has been constituted by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) to advise the Government on patent issues and to draft a national IPR policy for India; the think tank constitutes the following persons: Prathiba Singh, senior advocate; Punita Bhargava, advocate, Inventure IP; Unnat Pandit, Cadila Pharmaceuticals; Rajeev Srinivasan, director, Asian school of business; and Narendra Sabharwal, retired DDG, WIPO. The panel would be headed by Justice Prabha …

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SpicyIP Tidbit: Top selling medicine brands may soon become cheaper

/ By / Drug Regulation, Patent

  The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) is all set to slash the prices of popular medicines for stress, hypertension, HIV, pain and pneumonia. The move seeks to cover as many as 100 new drugs and would apply to drugs of varying strengths; for example, NPPA regulates the price of only one strength of Paracetamol currently, but the NPPA intends to control the pricing of all strengths of Paracetamol available in the market. This is the second time that NPPA …

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SpicyIP Tidbit: Sandisk gets John Doe order

/ By / Trademark

Last month, the Delhi High Court granted a John Doe order to Sandisk Corporation, the world’s largest provider of flash memory storage devices by the name of ‘SanDisk’. The plaintiff Sandisk Corporation had filed the suit (I.A.20550/2014) for permanent injunction restraining infringement of trademark, copyright, passing off, rendition of accounts of profits, damages, delivery up, etc. The order was passed by Justice G.S. Sistani on 17th October, 2014. The plaintiff, Sandisk Corporation, had submitted that certain unknown persons were initially selling …

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Shatranj ke Khiladi! (Can you copyright a chess move?)

/ By / Copyright

As the world, particularly India, watches with baited breath to see whether five-time World Champion Vishwanathan Anand would be able to reclaim his crown from Norway’s Magnus Carlsen, an interesting question crossed my mind, ‘Can a chess player copyright his chess moves?’ Even though this might not be desirable in the larger interest of sports, it is worth exploring whether it is theoretically possible to do so. While I am quite sure that this issue has never been deliberated seriously …

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SpicyIP Tidbit: Exciting things are happening at Burger King!

/ By / Trademark

As Indians await the launch of the first ever Burger King outlet in India tomorrow, we discovered that the fast-food giant is caught in a trademark row with an Indian company by the name of Burger King India Ltd. Burger King Corp., the US company, had filed an application in August this year to for a permanent injunction against a number of companies for trademark infringement; the matter is sub-judice. Even though it is only now that the Florida-based company …

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Guest Post- Khadi: Shouldn’t we first set our house in order?

/ By / Trademark

SpicyIP is delighted to share with you a guest post on the ongoing ‘khadi’ trademark controversy, written by none other than Ms. Latha R. Nair, a distinguished IP practitioner from India. She has a number of distinctions to her credit, but we list a few of them below: “She is a partner with the Delhi based law firm K&S Partners, one of the top IP firms in India. She received her Honors degree in Bachelor of Arts and Law from the …

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European Patent Office & India sign MoU on bilateral co-operation on patents

/ By / Patent

The European Patent Office (EPO) announced on its website today that it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Intellectual Property Office of India (IPO India) on co-operation on patents to promote innovation in India and the European Union. The MoU calls for bilateral co-operation between EPO & IPO and it seeks to establish a framework for structured work relations between both the offices for a minimum of four years. The website of the European Patent Office …

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SpicyIP Tidbit: ‘Amma Mineral Water’ trademark likely to fail

/ By / Trademark

The State Express Transport Corporation of Tamil Nadu had applied for a trademark for ‘Amma Mineral Water’ at the Trademarks Registry in Chennai. ‘Amma Water’ is a product of Amma Mineral Water manufacturing units set up in 2013 by former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa; this had been done on behalf of the Tamil Nadu government transport corporations to provide “hygienic and sterile drinking water at affordable price.” The packaged drinking water was being sold to the long-distance bus commuters …

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Blast from the Past: Einstein & Thomas Jefferson were patent- examiners!

/ By / Patent

While patent examiners are generally known for helping others obtain patents, who would have known that a famous inventor and scientist, none other than the great Albert Einstein, was himself a patent-examiner once!  As the story goes, Albert Einstein was appointed at the federal patent office in Bern (Switzerland) in 1902. It is believed that upon graduation, Einstein tried to get a job as a teacher, but without any luck. It was then that he secured a job as a …

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Think Tank constituted by DIPP to draft a national IPR Policy for India

/ By / Patent

The Economic Times reports that Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has set up a think tank to advise the Government on a gamut of issues related to patents and to also draft a national IPR policy. The think-tank is a six member panel comprising Prathiba Singh, senior advocate; Punita Bhargava, advocate, Inventure IP; Unnat Pandit, Cadila Pharmaceuticals; Rajeev Srinivasan, director, Asian school of business; and Narendra Sabharwal, retired DDG, WIPO. The panel would be headed by Justice Prabha …

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