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).

COVID-19 Patent

The Need for an IP Policy to Build a Strategic Stockpile for Pandemics

by Prashant Reddy March 26, 2020

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Just as the country is coming to terms with the reality of the COVID pandemic, we are being warned of mass shortages of everything from quality masks to hazmat suits to diagnostic kits to ventilators and other crucial medical equipment. The Health Ministry should have prepared strategic stockpiles of this material in preparation of such a pandemic but unfortunately this has not been done. The challenge now for India, is to rapidly build up a stockpile that can cater to…

An Overview of the Lobbying against Indian IP Law before the USTR

by Prashant Reddy March 13, 2020

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Every year, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) conducts hearings for its ‘Special 301’ report. The report which draws its name from Section 301 of the Trade Act, 1974 is meant to name and shame America’s trading partners based on their efforts to protect American intellectual property. This report then feeds into other reports by the USTR, such as the National Trade Estimate on Foreign Trade Barriers which forms the basis of the American President’s trade policy. In almost all…

Others

As Justice Manmohan Singh Gets Another 6 Months on IPAB, an Ethical Quandary for the Lawyers of AIPPI

by Prashant Reddy March 4, 2020

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The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) issued an order on Monday, with the Supreme Court pointing a gun at its head, appointing Justice Manmohan Singh to the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) until September 21, 2020 despite Justice Manmohan Singh having hit the statutory retirement age on September 21, 2019. The ‘gun’ in question was a highly irregular order passed by the Supreme Court on December 20, 2019 in a petition filed by AIPPI (Association Internationale pour la Protection…

Comparative Advertising Others

Parachute Disparagement Case: A Trivial Error or Actual Malice?

by Prashant Reddy March 3, 2020

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I read with interest Latha’s post published yesterday on why the ‘Bearded Chokra’ would be liable for disparagement even under the ‘actual malice’ standard. Needless to say, I disagree because it is an incorrect understanding of the ‘actual malice’ standard that undermines the essence of the fundamental right to free speech under Article 19(1)(a) and goes against one of the core values that have sustained SpicyIP since its inception. I am yet to find an instance in our young history…

Comparative Advertising Others

Parachute Disparagement Case: In Defense of Free Speech and the ‘Bearded Chokra’

by Prashant Reddy February 28, 2020

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Over the last decade, after witnessing Shamnad getting sued for alleged defamation by a pharmaceutical company and Aparajita Lath getting a legal notice for alleged defamation from a leading media house (Shamnad’s brilliant response is over here), I have developed quite a fondness for the fundamental right to free speech and defendants in defamation cases filed by corporations. In this backdrop, I feel compelled to reply to Latha’s spirited defense of Marico’s legal strategy in its lawsuit against ‘Bearded Chokra’…

Others

Justice Pratibha Singh Demands a Reply from the Government of India on the Dysfunctional IPAB – IP Bar Continues to Be Mute Spectator

by Prashant Reddy October 30, 2019

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In a sharply worded order passed last week, Justice Pratibha Singh of the Delhi High Court has made scathing observations regarding the dysfunctional Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) and has demanded answers from the Secretary of the DIIPT on the state of affairs at the IPAB. The tribunal is empowered to hear appeals against orders of the IP Office, as well as the power to hear revocation petitions against trademark and patent matters as well as fix royalty rates under…

Drug Regulation Others Patent

Reliance Life Sciences Scores Minor Victory in Continuing Litigation over Trastuzumab Biosimilars

by Prashant Reddy October 14, 2019

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An appeals bench of the Delhi High Court finally heard and disposed, last month, an appeal filed by Reliance Life Sciences in 2016, against an order that Justice Manmohan Singh had delivered in a lawsuit filed by Genentech. Since this is a strange case, it is necessary to recap the origins of this lawsuit. Around 2013, Biocon, Mylan and Glenmark were circling around Genentech’s patents and pending patent applications over the biologic Trastuzumab, that is sold under the brand name…

Others

Justice Ravindra Bhat Appointed to the Supreme Court of India

by Prashant Reddy September 29, 2019

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In a bit of good news, in an otherwise bleak time for Indian IP, Justice Ravindra Bhat was recently appointed to the Supreme Court of India. For the last 15 years Justice Bhat served as a judge of the Delhi High Court (and a few months as the Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court) where he delivered a number of landmark judgments in IP, starting with his famous judgment in the Roche v. Cipla patent infringement battle where he…

The IMI-Deloitte Report on the Indian Music Industry: Can Piracy Still Be a Problem in a World of Free Music?

by Prashant Reddy September 11, 2019

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The Indian Music Industry (IMI) which is the primary lobbying arm for the music industry, along with Deloitte’s consulting arm, has recently released a report on “The Economic impact of the recorded music industry in India”. The report is an attempt to place a value, not on the music industry, but its contribution to the economy by valuing its contribution to the various industries which use music as a “raw material”. As per the report, the music industry created a…

On Gandhi, Malamud and the JNU Data Depot

by Prashant Reddy September 7, 2019

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In response to my piece on the ‘JNU data depot’, I received a couple of emails from Carl Malamud alleging factual inaccuracies in my piece. I invited him to respond to the errors on SpicyIP, in response to which he started to abuse me. When I told him, I was going to publish the abusive email on SpicyIP, he apologized and the next day withdrew the apology in another abusive email. He then publicly attacked SpicyIP on Twitter. I find…

{ 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-... }
Akshat { At the prima facie stage, even if the documents are on record- without any cross examination, the veracity of any document cannot be made out. In any case,... }
Bhidu { "At the prima facie stage, where evidence ought not to be produced by parties, the reasoning given by the Single Judge requiring Defendant to show “material” in support... }
Swaraj Paul Barooah { Thanks for your kind words Neha! }
Swaraj Paul Barooah { Thank you for your comment and feedback! The length of the articles is becoming a delicate balance between all that we want to include, and trying to ensure... }