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.

The Haitian Plight and Traditional Knowledge: A Promise Unfulfilled?

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As we watch with horror at the plight of many in Haiti, the last thing on our minds is the nexus between traditional knowledge and the sad events that unfolded in the wake of a devastating earthquake almost a month back. According to this piece in the Huffington Post, there is indeed a significant nexus here. Apparently, the traditional medicinal wisdom of the Shamanic healers from the Amazonian forests was leveraged to create a drug, Crofelemer whose properties could be […]

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Indian "Bayh Dole" Problems: Some Resources

/ By / Patent

In an earlier post, I linked up to an editorial in the Mint highlighting some of the key problems with the Indian Bayh Dole bill. I also referred to a paper where I elaborate on these issues. Some of you wrote to state that you had difficulties downloading it from the SpicyIP website. I have therefore now uploaded it to the SSRN website and you can access it by clicking on this link (and then proceeding to click the “download”

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Abbott’s "Humira" Patent Unilaterally Revoked by Indian Patent Office

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In a rather bizarre incident, the Indian Patent Office (IPO) granted a patent to Abbott Laboratories relating to Humira, its best selling biologic meant to cure severe forms of arthritis. And then proceeded to revoke it a month later on its own accord! On receiving the rather pithy “cancellation” order from the IPO, a visibly shaken Abbott approached the Delhi High Court. Justice Muralidhar promptly stayed this unusual action by the IPO and issued a notice to it, returnable by

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The Indian Bayh Dole Bill: A Critique and Some Suggestions

/ By / Patent

In my last post, I lamented the pitiable state of affairs that informed and continues to inform the passage of India’s notorious “Bayh Dole” bill. In particular, I referred to a TOI piece, which documents the “secrecy” with which a Parliamentary select committee is now hearing this matter. I also referred to a draft article of mine (along with Shouvik Guha) which highlights some of the major flaws in this badly conceptualised and drafted Bill. For those interested, you may

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Law Making, Bayh Dole and the Indian (Re)Public

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Today, we celebrate the 60th anniversary of India’s coming into existence as a “Republic”, a date that many consider to be as important as the 15th of August 1947, when India finally shook off the last vestiges of foreign domination and went on to fulfill its tryst with destiny. As a friend of mine, Gopal Sankaranarayanan writes in the Hindu: “In many ways, August 15 would have little meaning if not for January 26. For, although independent, the vast land

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IP Jobs in Mumbai

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Reposting an earlier announcement of an excellent opportunity for those seeking a challenging IP opportunity in Mumbai. Two job openings for IP Professionals in Mumbai, as described below. If interested, please write with a copy of your CV to spicyipjob[at]gmail.com(I) POSITION: Senior Manager Legal – IP Enforcement Required Qualification: 5-8 years of IP infringement experience in a reputable law firm and/or multi-national corporation, including substantial work in copyright and/or trademark law Salary: Commensurate with the best in the industry Roles

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NUJS I(P)DEATE EVENT REMINDER

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A reminder that Graham Dutfield is speaking at NUJS this afternoon on “traditional medicines” and patents: Venue: Room 006, NUJS, KolkataDate: Jan 22, 2010 (Friday)Time: 3 pm to 5 pm (including QandA)Registration: If you’re interested in attending, please send an email with your name, designation and institution to shayonee[at]gmail.com. Attendance is free. From Traditional Medicines to Modern Drugs: Do Patents Protect Inventions and Promote Piracy?For as long as there has been a pharmaceutical industry, traditional knowledge has provided innumerable successful

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IP Ownership in an Employment Context: Patents vs Copyrights

/ By / Copyright, Patent

Divya Subramanian, a bright young IP attorney with Lex Orbis, one of India’s leading IP law firms, wrote and asked me a very pertinent query pertaining to the ownership of IP created by an employee during the course of employment. While the Copyright Act (section 17) states that absent a contract to the contrary, any work created in the course of employment belongs to the employer, the Patents Act does not carry a similar stipulation. Therefore, it would appear that

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Latha Nair on 3 Idiots and Contractual Fairness

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Latha Nair, who has already graced our blog several times in the past, now writes on the “3 Idiots” controversy, which has been debated extensively on this blog here, here and here. In particularly, she focuses on the “contractual” issues arising out of this highly sensational case. I found her reference to Salman Rushdie particularly interesting, since newspapers are abuzz with Rushdie’s recent visit to India to oversee the adaptation of his magnum opus, “Midnight’s Children” by the legendary film

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NUJS I(P)DEATE Series: Graham Dutfield on Traditional Medicines and IP

/ By / Innovation, Patent

The NUJS IP Chair and IPTLS present the first IP speaker in the “I(P)DEATE” series this year. Yes, owing to protests from certain quarters of engendering a classist bias, we’ve changed the name of our IP discussion series from “VIP” to “I(P)DEATE”. We’re very privileged to have one of the leading IP and development Scholars, Prof Graham Dutfield speak to us on “traditional medicines” and patents: Venue: Room 006, NUJS, KolkataDate: Jan 22, 2010 (Friday)Time: 3 pm to 5 pm

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