Author name: Shamnad Basheer

Prof. (Dr.) Shamnad Basheer founded SpicyIP in 2005. He's also the Founder of IDIA, a project to train underprivileged students for admissions to the leading law schools. He served for two years as an expert on the IP global advisory council (GAC) of the World Economic Forum (WEF). In 2015, he received the Infosys Prize in Humanities in 2015 for his work on legal education and on democratising the discourse around intellectual property law and policy. The jury was headed by Nobel laureate, Prof. Amartya Sen. Professional History: After graduating from the NLS, Bangalore Prof. Basheer joined Anand and Anand, one of India’s leading IP firms. He went on to head their telecommunication and technology practice and was rated by the IFLR as a leading technology lawyer. He left for the University of Oxford to pursue post-graduate studies, completing the BCL, MPhil and DPhil as a Wellcome Trust scholar. His first academic appointment was at the George Washington University Law School, where he served as the Frank H Marks Visiting Associate Professor of IP Law. He then relocated to India in 2008 to take up the MHRD Chaired Professorship in IP Law at WB NUJS, a leading Indian law school. Later, he was the Honorary Research Chair of IP Law at Nirma University and also a visiting professor of law at the National Law School (NLS), Bangalore. Prof. Basheer has published widely and his articles have won awards, including those instituted by ATRIP, the Stanford Technology Law Review and CREATe. He was consulted widely by the government, industry, international organisations and civil society on a variety of IP issues. He also served on several government committees.

Montblanc Undertakes to not sell "Gandhi" Pens

/ By / Trademark

A legal dispute over the use of the Gandhiji’s imagery on a commemorative Montblanc pen may be seeing closure soon. Montblanc gave an oral undertaking before the Kerala High Court (a bench consisting of the Acting Chief Justice PR Raman and Justice Ramachandran Nair ) today that it would not sell any pens with the image of Gandhiji, till such time as its application for permission is decided by the Central Government. Under section 3 of the Emblems and Names […]

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Exploring a New Angle in the TRIPS and Drug Patents Debate

/ By / Patent

Many of us are familiar with drug patents and its contentious impact on public health. But how many of us know that more drugs can lead to more patents? I chanced upon the history of the PCR (polymerase chain reaction) patents and found this passage from a documented interview with Mullis, the controversial inventor who believes in aliens and astrology: In a Q&A interview published in the September, 1994, issue of California Monthly, Mullis said, “Back in the 1960s and

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Patent Job Vacancies in Bangalore

/ By / Uncategorized

Two excellent positions at a leading law firm in Bangalore as listed below. If you’re interested, please drop an email to spicyipjob [at] gmail.com with your CV. Firm Profile: One of India’s leading law firms Positions Available: 2I. Position Title: PATENT ENGINEER (Biotech/Pharma) Location: BangaloreRoles and Responsibilities: i. Carrying out Prior Art, FTO searches ii. Drafting Patent Specifications including claims for filing in India, US and EUiii. Coordinating with the inventors, patent officials etc., preparing submission to office action and

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Aamir Khan vs Javed Akhtar: India’s Revolutionary Copyright Provision

/ By / Copyright

The media is abuzz with rumours of a clash between noted lyricist Javed Akhtar and leading cine star Aamir Khan over the recent copyright bill. It all began with the Hon’ble Minister for Human Resource Development (HRD), Kapil Sibal constituting a committee to review the provisions of the new copyright bill which will soon be introduced in Parliament, with Akhtar and Khan as members. During the very first committee meeting, Khan is rumoured to have remarked that lyricists do not

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Recent IP Official Appointment and Increasing Respect for IP

/ By / Uncategorized

In a previous post, we reported the recent appointment of V Bhaskar to the DIPP, the nodal agency in charge of IP. It was rumoured that all IP issues would be consolidated under his charge. It now turns out that he will only be in charge of “WIPO” related issues. This being so, perhaps the first issue he might need to fix is the rather serious allegation mounted by one of the stalwarts in the Indian pharma industry, Dilip Shah

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V Bhaskar Joins DIPP, the nodal IP agency in India

/ By / Uncategorized

The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), the nodal agency in charge of Indian intellectual property, has been blessed with a new face, namely that of V Bhaskar, an IAS officer from the Andhra Cadre (1981 batch). He joins at the rank of a Joint Secretary (JS). There are whispers that all IP matters would be consolidated under the control of V Bhaskar (barring copyrights, which continues under the Ministry of HRD). Currently, IP at the DIPP is split

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SpicyIP Is Looking for New Bloggers

/ By / Uncategorized

SpicyIP is in dire need of some fresh thinking on Indian IP, enthusiasm and of course, spice. If you’re interested in joining the team, would you please email me at shamnad [at] gmail.com? Please apply only if you are able to consistently devote time to the blog over a longish span, and able to write about 2 posts or so a week. Needless to say, age, sex, experience (or lack thereof) do not constitute bars of any sort. All you

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Google Book Search and Indian Copyright Law: An Inflammatory Idea?

/ By / Copyright

Those of you tracking the latest copyright news might have noted that the Indian Reprographic Rights Organisation (IRRO), a book publishers association, has strongly protested the ongoing Google Book Search (GBS) settlement terms in the US. Indeed, we’re not far from the day when the IRRO will take on Google before Indian courts. And when they do so, they are likely to win, as the Indian “fair use” is worryingly narrower than the US version. I highlight this controversy in

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Indian "Bayh Dole" and Parliamentary Committee Hearings

/ By / Patent

CH Unnikrishnan of the Mint has an excellent review of the recent Parliamentary (standing committee) hearings on the Indian Bayh Dole bill. As Unni rightly notes: “In the first instance of its kind in Indian legislative history, a panel appointed by Parliament to suggest changes to a controversial Bill has asked the government to review the proposed law before it completes its task.” Not too surprising, given that this law is fundamentally and conceptually flawed. More egregious than the bad

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Buckuchurbu and (re) Hydrating Indian Traditional Knowledge

/ By / Uncategorized

In an earlier post, I highlighted the alleged potential of Crofelemer, a drug to mitigate some of the sufferings in Haiti. This drug for tackling dehydration was based on ancient shamanic wisdom and is allegedly better than most rehydrating solutions known today. Closer home, a rare medicinal plant found in Arunachal Pradesh 3 years back is touted as having excellent re-hydration properties. An article notes the discovery of this plant, known interestingly as “Buckuchurbu” to the locals: “Begonia Tessaricarpa, last

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