In January, the Delhi High Court in the case of Hamdard National Foundation (India) v. Sadar Laboratories Pvt. Limited refused to grant an interim injunction in favour of the plaintiff in a case of trademark infringement concerning the plaintiff’s mark ‘Rooh Afza’ and the defendant’s mark ‘Dil Afza’. While the case has been settled, it provides an interesting example of how the boundaries of trademark protection are often tested by claimants seeking the enforcement of their rights. Background The case…

Bombay HC Clarifies the Contours of Copyright Infringement and Confidentiality Law

by Namratha Murugeshan January 13, 2022

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The Bombay High Court in Tarun Wadhwa v. Saregama India Ltd & Anr deliberated upon the intersection of copyright infringement and confidentiality law and held that ideas cannot be copyrighted but can be protected through the application of confidentiality law. Background The case, decided by a single-judge Bombay High Court bench, concerned an allegation by the plaintiff, Tarun Wadhwa, of copyright infringement and breach of confidentiality. Wadhwa claimed that he had written a synopsis and a screenplay, Haila Zombie!, which…

Patent

Section 3(b) Rejections: Patent Office Rejects Claims for Nicotine Delivery Devices

by Namratha Murugeshan January 12, 2022

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We recently came across two decisions by the Indian Patent Office (IPO) in which patent claim applications concerning two nicotine delivery devices were rejected on the ground of the same being affected by section 3(b) of the Indian Patents Act, 1970. Section 3(b) provides that “an invention the primary or intended use or commercial exploitation of which could be contrary to public order or morality or which causes serious prejudice to human, animal or plant life or health or to…

Others

A Look Back at India’s Top IP Developments of 2021

by Namratha Murugeshan January 2, 2022

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Here’s wishing all our readers a very happy, safe, and healthy new year! Continuing our annual tradition of recounting the significant developments that impacted the Indian IP landscape in the year that has been, we bring you a round-up of 2021’s developments. This year, we have divided these developments into three categories: a) Top 10 IP Judgments/Orders (Topicality/Impact) b) Top 10 IP Judgments/Orders (Jurisprudence/Legal Lucidity) and c) Top 10 Other IP Developments The decisions in the first category, i.e., Top 10…

Others

SpicyIP Fortnightly Review (October 17-31)

by Namratha Murugeshan November 1, 2021

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Delhi High Court extends the deadline to submit comments on Delhi High Court Intellectual Property Rights Division Rules, 2021 Praharsh reported that the Delhi High Court Registry announced an extension for submitting suggestions and comments on the proposed Delhi High Court Intellectual Property Rights Division Rules, 2021. The new deadline stands as November 10, 2021. The new Rules are a result of the Tribunal Reforms Act, 2021. Drug Price Controls in the US: Same, Same but Different? I wrote about…

Drug Regulation Innovation

Drug Price Controls in the US: Same, Same but Different?

by Namratha Murugeshan October 24, 2021

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In 2017, when India introduced price controls on coronary stents, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) had requested the Prime Minister to not extend price controls to additional medical devices. When India refused to heed to the request, amongst other things, the National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers reported the measure of price capping to be without a sense of differentiation between newer and older products (here, p. 235), India’s eligibility for US’ Generalized System of Preferences (GSP)…

Others

SpicyIP Weekly Review (September 6 – 12)

by Namratha Murugeshan September 13, 2021

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Parliamentary Standing Committee Report on Traditional Knowledge: Idealistic Expectations or Unworkable Ideas? Continuing our series of posts on the Parliamentary Standing Committee Report, I wrote about the recommendations on IPR and traditional knowledge. I covered the recommendations of the Report which includes reforming Section 3(p) of the Patents Act to incentivize TK-based innovation, creating a proper documentation mechanism to prevent misappropriation of TK, and registration of traditional knowledge as GIs. Analysing these recommendations, I note that they represent a shifting…

Patent Traditional Knowledge

Parliamentary Standing Committee Report on Traditional Knowledge: Idealistic Expectations or Unworkable Ideas?

by Namratha Murugeshan September 8, 2021

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Continuing our series of posts on the Parliamentary Standing Committee Report on Review of the IPR Regime in India, in this post I will be covering the Report’s recommendations on IPR and Traditional Knowledge (TK). The other posts on the Report can be found here, here, here, here, and here. Highlights from the Report The Committee Report’s observations on TK start off with a lament on how TK and indigenous inventions by grassroot level innovators often do not meet the…

SpicyIP Weekly Review (August 16 – 22)

by Namratha Murugeshan August 23, 2021

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PV Sindhu’s Olympics Victory: How Non-Sponsors Skirt the Law by ‘Congratulating’ Athletes In a guest post, Satchit Bhogle covered the issue of infringement of personality rights. Writing this post in the context of PV Sindhu’s success at the Tokyo Olympics and how that has spurred companies who do not sponsor her to put up congratulatory messages on social media with their brand logos and while using her images, Satchit analyses the discourse on the right to publicity surrounding the issue….

SpicyIP Weekly Review (July 26 – August 1)

by Namratha Murugeshan August 2, 2021

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Topical Highlight A Parliamentary Standing Committee Report that Challenges the Fine Balances Within the IP System In a guest post, Dr. Arul George Scaria writes about the macro and structural issues with the recently released Parliamentary Standing Committee Report on IPR. He notes the list of recommendations in the Report while highlighting the pro-industry nature of the same. The post focuses on three methodological flaws in the Report. Dr. Scaria points out that the Report lacks focused questions of enquiry…

Akshat { Hi Achille- I completely agree with your perspective that authors and performers who, through their societies are not able to gain compensation for underlying rights from corporates, can... }
Achille Forler { I agreed with Akshat on some previous post of his, but here he makes a caricature of copyright owners. Can he name the "cash flowing copyright industries with... }
Dr. Krishna Bipin Mehta { Kudos to both of you to think about IPR in this imaginary class setup. I ask these kind of questions in the introductory IPR class. Wow. Thanks for... }
Malobika Sen { Very informative piece. This effort by Justice Singh is truly remarkable! }
{ Justice Prathiba Singh is a trailblazer. We need more of this. We have some brilliant IP academics in India and students turning towards academia. This is extremely motivating-... }

De-Coding Indian Intellectual Property Law

Roof Afza v. Dil Afza: Finding Meaning in Trademark Protection

Bombay HC Clarifies the Contours of Copyright Infringement and Confidentiality Law

Section 3(b) Rejections: Patent Office Rejects Claims for Nicotine Delivery Devices

A Look Back at India’s Top IP Developments of 2021

SpicyIP Fortnightly Review (October 17-31)

Drug Price Controls in the US: Same, Same but Different?

SpicyIP Weekly Review (September 6 – 12)

Parliamentary Standing Committee Report on Traditional Knowledge: Idealistic Expectations or Unworkable Ideas?

SpicyIP Weekly Review (August 16 – 22)

SpicyIP Weekly Review (July 26 – August 1)