Author name: Praharsh Gour

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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SpicyIP Tidbit: Law Student Claiming Copyright Infringement Gets an Interim Injunction Against 2 Law Asst. Professors

/ By / Copyright

Ask anyone in academia what’s their worst nightmare. And probably, they’ll respond by saying “plagiarism.” Many face it, but only seldom do we hear stories where someone does something about it. Sharing one fascinating story here, a law student sued a law college, two of its professors and the editor of a journal alleging copyright infringement. The suit was instituted by Aathira Mannath A. (plaintiff), who alleged that earlier in 2023, she had participated in the “Global Jural Conclave 2023” …

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It’s a Product Patent… It’s a Process Patent… It’s Product-by-Process Patent!

/ By / Patent

In a significant development, the Delhi High Court on July 24, 2023 passed a detailed order on ‘product-by-process’ patent claims in Vifor International Ltd. v. MSN Laboratories Pvt. Ltd and anr. With this order the court disposed of different interim applications filed in 4 suits (three suits were filed by Vifor and Emcure against MSN Labs, Dr. Reddy Labs and Corona Remedies Pvt. Ltd. and the fourth one was filed by Virchow Biotech against Vifor), and refused to grant an …

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Hollow Victory? Delhi High Court Says Patents Act Supersedes Competition Act, with Shaky Reasons

/ By / Patent

[Long Post ahead] Who wins in a conflict between the Competition Act and the Patents Act? That’s been the central bone of contention in two big disputes for almost a decade now. In both disputes, Justice Vibhu Bakhru of the Delhi High Court (DHC) had ordered that the Competition Commission of India (CCI) can intervene in patent licensing disputes under Sections 3 and 4 of the Competition Act – first in 2016 (Ericsson v. CCI) and then again in 2020 …

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Who’s Filing These Patents, and Are They Working Alright? Looking at the Data from the IPO Annual Reports

/ By / Patent

[This post is co-authored with Swaraj Paul Barooah and Anshuman Kar. Anshuman, a SpicyIP intern, is a third year law student at National Law University, Odisha.] As per the data in the 2021-22 IP India Annual Report, a total of 66,440 applications were filed in India, which is 7,937 applications more than the last year’s filings (58,503). Appreciating the trend of rising patent applications and eventual grants, last year the Minister of Commerce lauded the efforts of the DPIIT in “strengthening” …

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CGPDTM to Recruit 553 Patent and Designs Examiners via QCI

/ By / Patent

Starting the day with some good news, the office of Controller General of Patent Designs and Trademarks (CGPDTM) has issued a notification for recruiting 553 Patent and Designs Examiners! However, it will be done via the Quality Council of India – more details on that later below. Those familiar with the Indian IP administration will know that an inadequate workforce is a systematic challenge that has plagued the functioning of the Indian patent office and the office of CGPDTM, generally, …

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