Author name: Prashant Reddy

T. Prashant Reddy graduated from the National Law School of India University, Bangalore, with a B.A.LLB (Hons.) degree in 2008. He later graduated with a LLM degree (Law, Science & Technology) from the Stanford Law School in 2013. Prashant has worked with law firms in Delhi and in academia in India and Singapore. He is also co-author of the book Create, Copy, Disrupt: India's Intellectual Property Dilemmas (OUP).

Intervention by Addl. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta in Monsanto-Nuziveedu appeal raises questions of propriety

/ By / Patent, Plant Variety Protection

Vivian Fernandes of Smart Agriculture has brought to light a recent development in the ongoing litigation between Monsanto and Nuziveedu. As we reported earlier, Monsanto sued Nuziveedu for patent and trademark infringement before the Delhi High Court. A Single Judge of the high Court declined to grant an interim injunction and the matter was appealed to a Division Bench of the High Court. As per Fernandes, during the hearings, the Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta “wanted to make a voluminous […]

Intervention by Addl. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta in Monsanto-Nuziveedu appeal raises questions of propriety Read More »

The (un)patentability of microbiological processes – A drafting error or considered policy?

/ By / Patent

While researching for a paper that I am currently writing, I stumbled along a rather strange issue regarding the patentability of microbiological processes. The root of the issue traces back to Article 27.3 of TRIPS. This provision allows member-states to exclude from patentability certain subject matter such as plants, animals and essentially biological processes, with the caveat that member-states will still have to protect micro-organisms and microbiological processes under their national patent laws. The relevant wording of Article 27.3 reads

The (un)patentability of microbiological processes – A drafting error or considered policy? Read More »

DIPP forgets about NIIPM & Indian law firms, signs deal with WIPO

/ By / Innovation, Patent

Earlier this month, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) announced that it had signed a deal with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) to establish Technology and Innovation Support Centres (TISC) in India. According to the press release put out by the DIPP, the TISCs are meant to provide innovators in developing countries with high quality technology, information and related services to help them create, protect and manage their intellectual property. As per the same press release, once

DIPP forgets about NIIPM & Indian law firms, signs deal with WIPO Read More »

Carlsberg v. Som Distilleries: Beer meets design law in an interesting judgment

/ By / Design

In a judgment running into 119 pages, Justice Vipin Sanghi of the Delhi High Court has declined to grant Carlsberg an interim injunction in a composite lawsuit filed for design infringement and passing off against Som Distilleries, the manufacturers of ‘Hunter’ beer. The winning side was represented by Senior Advocate Pratibha Singh, briefed by Kapil Wadhwa. Apart from denying an interim injunction, Justice Sanghi has referred a question of law to the Chief Justice on the grounds that the judgment

Carlsberg v. Som Distilleries: Beer meets design law in an interesting judgment Read More »

Appointments and Independence of the IPAB after the Finance Act, 2017

/ By / Others

While the Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman waxes eloquent about the government’s aim to have an efficient IP policy, the reality of the non-functioning Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) indicates that this government is no different from the previous UPA Government. The IPAB which hears appeals against the Intellectual Property Office, as also original revocation and rectification petitions against registered trademarks and patents, has been headless for over a year now after the last Chairperson retired. This problem has occurred several

Appointments and Independence of the IPAB after the Finance Act, 2017 Read More »

The ‘Well Known’ Trademark under the New Trade Mark Rules, 2017: Is the New Procedure Constitutional?

/ By / Trademark

The new Trade Mark Rules, 2017 recently notified and discussed over here on SpicyIP, have generated a lot of buzz for creating a new procedure that allows the Registrar to declare trademarks as ‘well known’. The new Rule 124 allows any trade mark owner to file a request in Form TM-M requesting the Registrar to declare a trademark ‘well-known’. As most of our readers may know, the ‘well-known’ tag is the ‘holy grail’ for trademark owners – everybody wants it

The ‘Well Known’ Trademark under the New Trade Mark Rules, 2017: Is the New Procedure Constitutional? Read More »

The RSS involvement in the Monsanto-Nuziveedu dispute and a reticent Bloomberg-Quint editor

/ By / Patent, Plant Variety Protection

In a special investigative report published on March 28, 2017 Reuters revealed the role being played by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in the IP dispute between Monsanto and Nuziveedu. For readers not familiar with the RSS, it is the ideological parent of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Although the RSS claims that it is only a “cultural” body not involved in politics, there is little doubt that the BJP or the Prime Minister (who was a member of the

The RSS involvement in the Monsanto-Nuziveedu dispute and a reticent Bloomberg-Quint editor Read More »

Delhi High Court Declines to Grant Monsanto an Interim Injunction in Dispute with Nuziveedu

/ By / Patent

Justice R. K. Gauba of the Delhi High Court passed a 95 page order  yesterday in the patent and trademark infringement lawsuit filed by Monsanto against Nuziveedu Seed Ltd., Prabhat Agri Biotech Ltd. and Pravardhan Seeds Pvt. Ltd. To briefly recap the origins of dispute, Monsanto licensed its Bt. Technology to Indian seed companies like Nuziveedu which incorporated this technology in its cotton seeds so as to render them resistant to attacks by boll-worms. The Indian seed companies sell these

Delhi High Court Declines to Grant Monsanto an Interim Injunction in Dispute with Nuziveedu Read More »

The Ilayaraja-SPB Copyright Dispute – Why the Big Fuss?

/ By / Copyright

As has been reported by multiple news outlets there is a copyright dispute brewing between Ilayaraja and SP Balasubramanyam (SPB), both of whom are national treasures. While Ilayaraja is a music composer, SPB is a singer. Currently on an international tour giving performances around the world, SPB posted an update on his Facebook page informing his fans that he had received a legal notice from Ilayaraja demanding royalties for performing his compositions during the tour. In the same post, SPB

The Ilayaraja-SPB Copyright Dispute – Why the Big Fuss? Read More »

Delhi High Court Grants Biocon-Mylan Permission to Market New Biosimilar For Additional Indiciations

/ By / Drug Regulation

As reported in the Economic Times on March 4, 2017 a Division Bench of the Delhi High Court has passed an interim order allowing Biocon and Mylan to market their biosimilar of Roche’s drug, Herceptin, for two additional indications: early breast cancer and metastatic gastric cancer. (Although this order was passed on March 3, 2017 it took the High Court’s registry almost 13 days days to make available the order on its website. It is not clear why it took

Delhi High Court Grants Biocon-Mylan Permission to Market New Biosimilar For Additional Indiciations Read More »

Scroll to Top