Author name: Praharsh Gour

Comments on the Draft Patent (Amendment) Rules, 2023

/ By / Patent

As highlighted earlier, yesterday was the last day to share comments/ recommendations with the Ministry of Commerce on the draft Patent (Amendment) Rules, 2023. While on the blog, we have had posts by Md. Sabeeh Ahmad titled “The Times They Are a-Changin’? A Look at the Revised Patent Prosecution Timelines in the Draft Patent Amendment Rules” and by Swaraj and I titled “Draft Patent Amendment Rules – Increasing Efficiency of Granting Patent Monopolies While Forgetting the Reason for Allowing Them …

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SpicyIP Tidbit: CGPDTM Issues Public Notice Limiting the Access to Trademark Public Search and E-Registry Features

/ By / Trademark

Trademark lawyers and researchers rely extensively on the Public Search and E-Register features of the Trademarks Registry’s website. But often it gets excruciatingly slow and painful to access the desired information owing to the massive bulk of traffic and other issues with the Trademark Registry’s servers in place. Acknowledging this issue, the office of Controller General of Patent Design and Trademark (CGPDTM) has issued a public notice announcing the unavailability of the Trademark Public Search feature and the E-register feature …

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SpicyIP Tidbit: CGPDTM Notifies Patent and Trademark Agent Exams 2024

/ By / Opportunities, Others, Patent, Trademark

The CGPDTM has notified the 2024 Patent and Trademarks Agents Exams. The Trademarks Agent Exam is “likely” to be held on January 06, 2024 and the Patent Agent Exam is “likely” to be held on January 7, 2024 in 14 locations- Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai, Cochin, Delhi, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, Ranchi, and Vishakhapatnam. Both exams will be conducted in 2 sessions of 2 hours (objective type) and 3 hours (descriptive type) respectively. The eligibility of the candidates …

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Preliminary Exams for the Recruitment of Patent and Designs Examiners Cancelled!

/ By / Design, Patent

Just a day after conducting the Preliminary exams for the recruitment of the Patent and Design Examiners, the Quality Control Council of India (QCI) on September 4, announced that the same has been cancelled due to “some irregularities/ technical glitches.” The reason for such a move is stated as “to ensure fairness, credibility, and transparency in the recruitment process.” But it is surprising to see that the public notice neither specifies what these irregularities and technical glitches were nor does …

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SpicyIP Tidbit: CGPDTM Calls for Comments and Suggestions on Different IP Manuals and Guidelines

/ By / Copyright, Design, Geographical Indication, Patent, Trademark

On August 30, the office of the Controller General of Patents, Design and Trademarks (CGPDTM) released a public notice inviting comments from stakeholders to revamp the Patents, Designs, Trademarks, GI and Copyright Manuals and Guidelines. The role of these manuals and guidelines is paramount as they help in implementing the provisions of the Statutes and Rules in a more streamlined manner by the officers and give an insight into the functioning of the office. Interestingly, the issue of revising the …

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Jharkhand High Court Quashes Criminal Proceedings Alleging Copyright Infringement Against a Professor

/ By / Copyright

A couple of weeks ago, I discussed the case of a law student in Bengaluru who alleged copyright infringement against two assistant professors. Just a couple of weeks later I’ve now come across news of another student alleging copyright infringement, (Paras Kumar Choudhary vs The State of Jharkhand), but this time a criminal proceeding was instituted against the professor! This was later quashed by the Jharkhand High Court on August 10, 2023.  The proceeding was initiated by one Dr. Shambhu …

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SpicyIP Tidbit: No Cure for the Plaintiff’s Heartburns? Delhi High Court Rejects an Interim Injunction Application against Defendant’s Anti-Acidity Drug Despite Finding Trademark Infringement

/ By / Trademark

On August 16, the Delhi High Court passed an order in Sun Pharma Laboratories Ltd. v. Finecure Pharmaceuticals which is sure to have caught the attention of trademark lawyers. The court refused to grant an interim injunction to the plaintiff despite finding that the defendant had infringed the plaintiff’s mark. The court reasoned this by holding that prima facie trademark registration seems invalid, questioning the veracity of the registration order by the Trademark Registry and also finding that since the defendants were …

SpicyIP Tidbit: No Cure for the Plaintiff’s Heartburns? Delhi High Court Rejects an Interim Injunction Application against Defendant’s Anti-Acidity Drug Despite Finding Trademark Infringement Read More »

SpicyIP Tidbit: Non-Working will not Work: Delhi High Court’s Inquisitorial Assessment of Interim Injunctions 

/ By / Patent

Those familiar with IP litigation in India would know the significance of obtaining an interim injunction since that “interim” period is often so long that it can end up having significant commercial value as well! And while there have been numerous instances where the courts have looked past their obligations to pass reasoned orders while granting interim relief, I recently came across an interesting order from the Delhi High Court where the court denied the relief which the plaintiff was …

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A Division Bench Stays the Directions in the Vifor v. MSN Labs ‘Product by Process Claims’ Order

/ By / Patent

On 24 July, 2023 the Delhi High Court had passed a detailed order in Vifor v. MSN Laboratories, reading Process by Product patent claims within the Indian patent regime. Explaining the nitty gritty of these types of claims, the court refused to grant an injunction to Vifor (the plaintiff) and allowed the defendants to launch their products in the market. Merely 17 days later, a Division Bench of the High Court has now placed a stay (pdf) on the operation …

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Trademark Registry Files Latest Data on Oppositions Before the Delhi High Court

/ By / Trademark

Data on the pendency and disposal of applications and oppositions are extremely crucial to understand the effectiveness of the Indian Patent Office and the Trademarks Registry. But accessing the latest data on the performance of these institutions has been a herculean task. Leaving aside the fate and quality of responses to RTI applications seeking this information (discussed extensively here), the Annual Reports of the Controller General’s office, presumably carrying all the necessary data, are uploaded on a yesteryear basis. So, …

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