State’s Inaction, Petitioner’s Death Makes Kerala High Court to Take Suo Moto Cognizance of Ribociclib’s Unaffordability

by Praharsh Gour September 28, 2022

Recently, the Kerala High Court took suo moto cognizance of a drug’s unaffordability, following the unfortunate passing away of the petitioner who had earlier made a pleading for the government to use the Patent Act levers to curb the rising prices of a life-saving drug (pdf). The drug in question here is Ribociclib, which is available under the brand name(s) Kisqali (in the USA) and Kryxana (in India) and is used to treat certain kinds of breast cancer. The Court…

Others Patent

Fixing Pre grants: Will the EAC suggestion to fix time limit help?

by Praharsh Gour August 9, 2022

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Recently, the Economic Times reported that the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC) suggested two ways to fast track the process of granting patents. First, it suggested hiring more examiners, an issue we have previously raised alarm about here and here. However, it’s the second suggestion, to limit the timeline for filing pre-grant opposition to 6 months, which has been making quite a few rounds in the media (see for instance here and here). These suggestions were apparently…

COVID-19 Patent

WTO Decides on the Access to COVID-19 Vaccines: Is Late as Good as Never?

by Praharsh Gour July 4, 2022

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A meme about UNO where in one picture the card says "Come up with a robust and prompt solution to the IP challenges during the Pandemic or draw 25" and in next picture the player is holding 25 cards.

[This post has been co-authored by Rahul Bajaj and Praharsh Gour. Rahul is an attorney at IRA Law and a former Senior Resident Fellow at Vidhi. Rahul is a Rhodes Scholar (2018) and has worked as a law clerk for Justice D. Y Chandrachud (2020-21). He has also blogged for us in the past and was the SpicyIP Fellow for 2016. Readers can access posts by Rahul here. Views expressed in the post are personal] Since the TRIPS waiver was…

COVID-19 Patent

Breaking: 12th WTO Ministerial Conference concludes with a Draft Decision on TRIPS (waiver?)

by Praharsh Gour June 17, 2022

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After 2 long years and the whole hubbub that the 12th Ministerial Conference was, (see here here and here) WTO has finally come up with the Draft Ministerial Decision On The TRIPS Agreement. The text is bound to have the world split on what to make of it. While multiple detailed assessments of this Draft Decision are due in course, I’ll quickly highlight a few key pointers which stand out (for better or worse) Footnote 1: Defines ‘eligible Members’ to…

Delhi High Court Appoints an Academic Expert to Aid the Court in Interpreting Section 52(1)(za) of Copyright Act

by Praharsh Gour May 17, 2022

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Some ten years ago, post Prof. Basheer’s intervention before the Supreme Court in the Novartis case, Prashant had commented “Academics in India are usually cloistered in their classrooms and conference rooms. I hope we have several more of such interventions, especially since we now have a breed of brilliant young academics in India”. And now almost a decade later, the Indian judiciary will be assisted by another academic in an IP dispute, this time in form of Prof. Arul George…

Patent

Delhi High Court grants interim injunction to Novartis against Natco’s use of Revolade patent

by Praharsh Gour December 27, 2021

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The Delhi High Court recently granted an interlocutory injunction to Novartis against Natco’s use of Eltrombopag Olamine (EO). The debate at the crux of the dispute is, or rather was, the dichotomy between deference to the validity of a granted patent vis-a-vis the challenge to its validity and consequently disregarding the exclusivity granted to it, in litigation. The court in the present matter seemed to have sided with the former and placed the ‘presumption’ of validity of a patent at…

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Delhi High Court extends the deadline to submit comments on Delhi High Court Intellectual Property Rights Division Rules, 2021

by Praharsh Gour October 28, 2021

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The Delhi High Court Registry on October 26, 2021 announced an extension for submitting suggestions and comments on the proposed Delhi High Court Intellectual Property Rights Division Rules, 2021. As per this, the new deadline stands as November 10, 2021. The proposed rules come out as a result of the Tribunal Reforms Act, 2021, and the recommendations made by the committee constituted by the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court Justice D. N Patel, to further the implementation of…

Patent

Division Bench Stays the Interim Injunction Granted to Kibow Biotech, calls Methodology of the Single Judge Bench for Establishing Prima Facie case “Flawed”

by Praharsh Gour September 13, 2021

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The present post discusses another instance of interim injunctions imposed by our courts on the basis of problematic rationale. Sometime back, I reported on an interim injunction order by a Single Judge Bench of Madras High Court against La Renon Healthcare Pvt. Ltd. and Stanford Labs Pvt. Ltd (the defendants). Without narrating the background in detail again, the order was passed in an ongoing patent infringement dispute (covered here and here for the blog) surrounding Plaintiff no. 2’s (Kibow Biotech)…

Patent

Ensuring Access to TB drugs: Is Compulsory License the Way?

by Praharsh Gour August 13, 2021

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This Post has been co-authored by Rahul Bajaj and Praharsh Gour. Rahul is presently working as a Senior Resident Fellow, Partnerships at Vidhi. Before his stint with Vidhi, Rahul has worked as a law clerk for Justice D. Y Chandrachud (2020-21) and is a Rhodes Scholar (2018). He has also blogged for us in the past and was the SpicyIP Fellow for 2016. Readers can access posts by Rahul here. [Note: Long post ahead] Ensuring Access to TB drugs: Is…

Back from the Dead? Parliamentary Committee on IP suggests against scrapping of IPAB

by Praharsh Gour July 26, 2021

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One may recall the scene in Macbeth where he encounters the ghost of his former friend Banquo and exclaims in disbelief. I am sure many would have exclaimed with similar sentiment after reading the suggestions of the recent Parliamentary Standing Committee Report on Review of IPR regime in India, which suggests re-institution of IPAB. At the outset, let me clarify, I am in no way against the idea of having a dedicated IP court, which will ensure timely disposal of…

{ Hi Team, by when can we expect the announcement of the results? Been more than 2 months since the submission. Thank you! }
Sai Kumar Mishra { Hi, That is true u/s 3(x)(ii), taking a wholesome view of Section 3 and the listed sections thereof, While investigative medical devices have been defined as " in... }
{ Hi Sai Kumar, Thanks for your comment. From what i understand, you suggest that investigational devices are purely diagnostic devices. But is the scope broader than this? It... }
lawyer { The key point is the convincing argument that Prashant makes in his essay in the Hindu. In any case, I find it perplexing how the information contained in... }
Aparajita Lath { Hi Ayush, Thanks for your comment. Curious to understand how you will establish urgent relief and escape mediation. Regards, Aparajita }