Author name: SpicyIP

Shamnad Basheer (1976–2019): The Man, the Academic and the Friend

/ By / Others

While we’re all struggling to come to terms with the heart breaking loss of our Founder and Chief Mentor, Prof. (Dr.) Shamnad Basheer, we bring to you a lovely tribute to him by Prashant Reddy or the “Prolific” Prashant, as Prof. Basheer often used to fondly call him. Prashant was invited by Prof. Basheer to join the blog in 2007 and had since then worked very closely with him towards fostering transparency in the Indian IP ecosystem, both through regular …

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Happy Feet and Not-so-Happy Hands: Meaning of GI for Kolhapuri Chappals

/ By / Geographical Indication

We’re pleased to bring to you a guest post by Dr. Sunanda Bharti on the GI tag for Kolhapuri chappals. Dr. Sunanda is an Assistant Professor in Law at Delhi University. She has written two guest posts for us in the past as well, which can be viewed here, here and here. Happy Feet and Not-so-Happy Hands: Meaning of GI for Kolhapuri chappals Dr. Sunanda Bharati Introduction Though GI in favour of Kolhapuri was registered in December 2018 itself, the news …

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The Timken Template: The Delhi High Court Ruling in Suzuki Motor v. Suzuki India

/ By / Trademark

We’re pleased to bring to you a guest post by Eashan Ghosh on the recent Delhi High Court ruling in Suzuki Motor v. Suzuki India. Eashan has been in practice as an intellectual property advocate and consultant in New Delhi since 2011, and teaches a seminar on intellectual property law at National Law University, Delhi. Eashan writes about Indian intellectual property law, including a monthly review of Delhi High Court judgments, on his Medium page. He has written guest posts for …

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The Sustainable Seed Innovations Project: The Story of ‘Sona Moti’

/ By / Innovation, Plant Variety Protection, Traditional Knowledge

In the next post in the ongoing series on The Sustainable Seed Innovations Project, Natalie Kopytko, Post-Doctoral Research Associate at University of Leeds shares the story of a variety of wheat recently named Sona Moti. In way of context, the post briefly describes the current revival of ancient grains globally, specifically Emmer wheat varieties. The story of Sona Moti demonstrates the issues of traceability in variety development and the importance of intellectually property-broad. The Story of Sona Moti Natalie Kopytko …

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The Sustainable Seed Innovations Project: Model Farms and Farmers in Seva

/ By / Innovation, Plant Variety Protection, Traditional Knowledge

In the next post in the ongoing series on The Sustainable Seed Innovations Project, Natalie Kopytko, Post-Doctoral Research Associate at University of Leeds shares stories of farmers creating model farms to educate others about natural farming methods. The cultivation techniques are a crucial aspect to sustainable innovations; moreover, this story discusses community support and socio-economic sustainability. Model Farms and Farmers in Seva Natalie Kopytko Cultivation of traditional varieties, often termed Desi seeds, require no external inputs (chemical fertilizers or pesticides). …

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Creating More Copyright in Cinema: But What of the Actual Creators?

/ By / Copyright

We’re pleased to bring to you a guest post by Swaroop Mamidipudi on the recent decisions in MRF v. Metro Tyres and Yash Raj Films v. Sri Sai Ganesh Productions, wherein the Delhi High Court held that making of a substantially similar copy (and not only a physical copy) of a copyrighted film amounts to infringement of copyright in the film itself. Swaroop is an advocate practicing in copyright law at the Madras High Court. He has guest blogged for us in the past as well (see here, here and here). Creating …

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The Sustainable Seed Innovations Project: Rolling out DLT/Blockchain Based Solutions for Sustainable Seed Innovations – Ethical Issues (Part IV)

/ By / Innovation, Plant Variety Protection, Traditional Knowledge

Rolling out DLT/Blockchain Based Solutions for Sustainable Seed Innovations: Ethical Issues to be Considered Mrinalini Kochupillai As discussed in Prong 3, blockchains/DLTs are essentially platforms that help manage data, and when designed and governed using appropriate models, can help solve problems of trust, traceability and equitable data collection, storage and use. Blockchain/DLT can also support and facilitate payments (including royalty payments) of equitable compensation to those sharing their data. Blockchains can be public or private (or a combination of public …

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The Sustainable Seed Innovations Project: Supporting a Smooth Implementation of the Three-Pronged Approach to Sustainable Seed Innovation – Legal & Ethical Issues (Part III)

/ By / Innovation, Plant Variety Protection, Traditional Knowledge

Supporting a Smooth Implementation of the Three-Pronged Approach to Sustainable Seed Innovation – Legal & Ethical Issues (Part III) Mrinalini Kochupillai (iii) Seed Certification, Safety and Efficacy: Re-distributing responsibilities and rewards India’s Seeds Bill[1] that has been pending since 2004, aims to establish certain systems that can facilitate the emergence of regional, national as well as international markets for indigenous/heterogenous seeds. For example, the mandatory seed certification requirement can help farmers and farmer groups get their varieties quality tested and …

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The Sustainable Seed Innovations Project: Supporting a Smooth Implementation of the Three-Pronged Approach to Sustainable Seed Innovation – Legal & Ethical Issues (Part II)

/ By / Innovation, Plant Variety Protection, Traditional Knowledge

Supporting a Smooth Implementation of the Three-Pronged Approach to Sustainable Seed Innovation: Legal & Ethical Issues (Part II) Mrinalini Kochupillai Disengage Benefit Sharing for PGR Access from Downstream IPR Protection In the context of the Seed Treaty (and the Indian PPV & FR Act, 2001), it is necessary to re-think the current legal provisions that mandate benefit sharing only if the downstream research with PGRs is protected by intellectual property rights.[1] It may be possible to justify this current limitation …

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The Sustainable Seed Innovations Project: Supporting a Smooth Implementation of the Three-Pronged Approach to Sustainable Seed Innovation – Legal & Ethical Issues (Part I)

/ By / Innovation, Plant Variety Protection, Traditional Knowledge

In the next four part post in the ongoing series on The Sustainable Seed Innovations Project, Dr. Mrinalini Kochupillai, co-investigator, Sustainable Seed Innovations 2.0 Project and corresponding author of the forthcoming SSI 2.0 Position Paper for the Government of India, identifies key legal hurdles that currently prevent sustainable seed innovations in India. The post also discusses how blockchain/DLT, coupled with AI/Machine learning applications can potentially help overcome these hurdles. The fourth part of this blog post also highlights certain ethical …

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