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).

SpicyIP Tidbits: Patents, TKDL and our ‘holy cows’

/ By / Uncategorized

Kounteya Sinha of the Times of India has recently reported on yet another success story of the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL). I’m a little amused at the title though, which claims that ‘India foils Swiss MNC’s bio-piracy bid’. The patent application in question, which was filed by Nestec S.A. before the European Patent Office (EPO) was for the use of ‘cow-milk’ as a laxative in the treatment of constipation. How is this ‘bio-piracy’? Nestec probably used milk from Swiss […]

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The rage against the Karnataka State Bio-Diversity Board: too much rhetoric?

/ By / Biological Diversity

In a scathing press release, published about a month ago, the Environmental Support Group (ESG), a Bangalore based NGO, has slammed the decision of the Karnataka State Biodiversity Board to not prosecute Monsanto’s Indian subsidiary, Mahyco for alleged bio-piracy of a certain variety of brinjal which was used to create the genetically modified and hugely controversial Bt-Brinjal. Image from here. ESG had alleged, last year, that Mahyco and its collaborators had accessed the genetic material without the requisite permissions under

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National Science Day – The good and bad of Indian policy initiatives for scientific research and innovation

/ By / Innovation

The 28th of February is celebrated as ‘National Science Day’ in India, in memory of C.V. Raman who was responsible for the discovery of what was later known as the ‘Raman Effect’. Raman was the first Indian and also the first ‘non-white’ to be awarded a Nobel Prize in Physics, in 1930. Given the significance of this day, it makes sense to review the policy initiatives to put India back on the research track. Image of C.V.Raman from here.  In

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The TKDL ‘free access’ agreements with the EPO, JPO & USPTO: Subsidizing foreign patent offices?

/ By / Uncategorized

We recently managed to get our hands on the ‘access agreements’ entered into between CSIR and the EPO, JPO & USPTO for the right to use the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL). The access agreements can be accessed over here, here and here. The TKDL is a significant achievement, in that it is has managed to digitize and translate into several languages a vast amount of information pertaining to India’s traditional knowledge. CSIR must receive its due share of credit

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The demand for a ‘flexible complementing scheme’ by the patent office staff

/ By / Uncategorized

One of the long standing demands by the examiners and controllers of the patent office has been for the introduction of the ‘flexible complementing scheme’ (FCS). This demand was reiterated most recently by Dr. Kardam, Deputy Controller of Patents, in his feedback to the DIPP’s discussion paper on the review of the organizational structure of the patent office. The FCS scheme is basically an incentive mechanism which was applied to all scientific and technical staff in the ‘Group A’ cadre

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Calcutta High Court orders ISPs to block songs.pk

/ By / Copyright

Nikhil Pahwa of Medianama has recently reported that the Calcutta High Court has passed an ex-parte injunction restraining a number of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) from providing access to http://www.songs.pk, a website which has gained notoriety for providing the latest Bollywood music for free downloading to all visitors. As per Nikhil’s report the lawsuit before the Calcutta High Court has been filed by the Phonographic Performance Ltd. (PPL), Indian Music Industry (IMI) and Sagarika Music Pvt. Ltd. The defendants named

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Revoking patents without ‘evidence’

/ By / Patent

In a decision dated the 24th of November, 2011 the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) revoked patent number 193899 bearing title “Process for Preparation of Low Glycemic Sweets”. (This order can be accessed over here) As the title suggests the patent in question was for a process to prepare ‘low-sugar’ sweets for diabetic patients. The revocation petition was a part of a long-standing dispute between the famous Chennai based Adyar Bhavan and the inventors of the impugned patent. The first

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More on the nationalization of GIs – Sarkar Raj – Power cannot be given – It has to be taken

/ By / Uncategorized

Continuing from my earlier post on the ‘nationalization’ of G.I. which covered the G.I. applications from 100-200, I’ve now compiled some statistics for the first 100 G.I. applications to have been filed in India. Not surprisingly, 64% of these 100 applications have been filed and subsequently registered in the names of government agencies ranging from the Government of India to the State Government of Tamil Nadu. The entire list can be accessed over here.  A total of 17 G.I.s for

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The ‘Nationalization’ of Geographical Indications in India

/ By / Uncategorized

I spent the better part of this morning browsing through the registration details of 100 G.I applications (Applications nos. 100 to 200) at various stages of examination and registration before the G.I.Registry. Of these 100 G.I. Applications, a surprising total of 57 applications, i.e. 57% of the applications, were filed by either the Central Government or a State Government through different authorities, statutory and executive. The list of these applications can be accessed over here and here. I was always

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Official Inquiry into mismanagement of IPRS given a quiet burial

/ By / Copyright

In a reply to an RTI application, the Copyright Office has now informed us that the official inquiry into allegations of mismanagement of IPRS, has been given a quiet burial on account of the pending Copyright (Amendment) Bill, 2010 in the Indian Parliament. I don’t quite understand the link between the pending Bill and the inquiry but as long as the original complainants i.e. M/s Akhtar & Co. aren’t complaining, we can only presume that the matter has been amicably

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