This month, we received the tragic news of the passing away of our Founder and Chief Mentor, Prof. (Dr.) Shamnad Basheer. He touched the lives of all of us here at SpicyIP in innumerable ways and always encouraged us with our work at the blog on a day-to-day basis. His loss cannot be put into words, but we hope to honour his legacy by continuing the good work he started with SpicyIP. See the tribute penned for our blog by …
In January this year, we had reported that the IPAB website was down, leaving the latest orders and judgments of the IPAB inaccessible. For the last few days, we have noticed that the website is back online. But it is not exactly good news, as the website seems to be displaying links that allow one to check their Passenger Name Record (PNR) status for trains online rather than orders passed by the tribunal. Click here and see for yourself! We …
We have had a gargantuan week at SpicyIP, with plenty of content on recent decisions around courts, and updates from the Sustainable Seed Innovations Project. Below is a summary of the week gone by: Topical Highlight In a guest post, Swaroop Mamidipudi wrote on twin decisions of the Delhi High Court that expand the scope of protection of cinematograph films. Prior to this decision, it was understood that copyright in cinematograph films could only be infringed if a physical copy …
We had an extremely busy week at SpicyIP! Here’s the roundup: Topical Highlight In a guest post, Prashant Reddy wrote a piece on the Delhi HC’s decision to allow the current Chairman and Technical Expert for Plant Varieties to hear disputes in all matters, including patents, trademarks, etc. It has also declared that all orders passed by the IPAB without quorum are proper. Prashant argues that the judgment ignores the provisions of the Trade Marks Act, and makes a mockery …
In Part I of this post, I had discussed the Panel’s findings on Article 22(b) of TRIPS in the Tobacco Plain Packaging case. In Part II, I will examine the second GI issue, on detriment to pre-existing rights in geographical indications. Article 24.3: Pre-Existing Rights in GIs Prior to the coming into force of TRIPS, different jurisdictions protected geographical indications in different ways. While in some jurisdictions GIs were protected under trademark law, others relied on common law doctrines to …
Recently, I had the opportunity to work on the Panel Report in the Tobacco Plain Packaging case at the WTO. It brought forth several interesting questions on the intersection between health, policy-making, trade and intellectual property rights. It also places TRIPS obligations relating to trademark and GIs under the scanner, with question marks raised over whether the interpretation given by the Panel supports a good faith interpretation of the treaty. While much has been written about the issues pertaining to …
A little over a year ago, a Panel formed under the auspices of the World Trade Organisation published a report that found Tobacco Plain Packaging Measures (the ‘TPP Measures’) rolled out in Australia to be compliant with obligations under international trade agreements. This decision was hailed as a victory against the tobacco lobby, which has rallied against TPP Measures at several levels, including domestic courts and international investment tribunals. However, this decision has also attracted plenty of criticism (see here …
An Update on the Tobacco Plain Packaging Case at the WTO Read More »
Thematic Highlight In a guest post, Dr Sunanda Bharti shared her views on sarees as a subject matter of intellectual property rights. Specifically, she argues that the methods of draping sarees can be protected as Traditional Cultural Expression. She notes that the use of these methods would constitute misappropriation if used commercially or in a manner that offends the culture. Further, she posits that these rights may be implemented through the Domaine Public Payant method, where the government collects revenue …
In a guest post, Arun Mohan shared his thoughts on the recent Ilayaraja judgment passed by the Madras High Court. He notes that the judgment consolidates producers’ rights over sound recordings that incorporate musical works that are created prior to and post the 2012 amendments. The judgment does, however, pay heed to the composers’ moral rights to paternity and integrity. Pankhuri wrote a post on the developments from the order passed by the Delhi HC in the patent working PIL …
I wrote a post on the Delhi HC’s recent order and circular that seek to prevent the practice of ‘defendant masking’. The order and circular prescribe stricter checks by the registry and an undertaking from the plaintiff suggesting that the defendant arraigned as Defendant Number 1 is the main contesting defendant. Other Developments Indian Judgments International Cycle Gears v. The Controller of Patents and Designs and Others – Calcutta High Court [May 10, 2019] The Appellant filed an appeal against the …
