Author name: Swaraj Paul Barooah

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Aaron Swartz, RIP

/ By / Copyright

See Cory Doctorow’s eulogy here Some of us in India may not have heard of Aaron Swartz, a 26 year old activist who was heavily involved in copyright policy issues and issues surrounding technology freedom. He committed suicide on Jan 11th, 2013 and his story is a sad one which is certainly worth sharing. However, what’s also important to note, are the circumstances which may have led his eventual suicide. While it cannot be confirmed, it appears that his arrest and indictment […]

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SpicyIP Fellowship reminder

/ By / Uncategorized

As announced earlier, SpicyIP is offering a Fellowship for researching and writing on developments in the Indian intellectual property rights and innovation policy scenario. There are currently 15 days left to apply for the Fellowship. Once again, at least 3 guest posts are required to be submitted by the end of this period to be considered eligible for the Fellowship. We’ve already received several great entries and we look forward to receiving more as the deadline approaches.  There does however

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Incentives through Recognition? Nobel Assembly sued for libel and unfair competition

/ By / Innovation, Patent

Image from here Incentives have generally proven troublesome in the context of the intellectual property regime. Right from questioning whether the correct amount of incentives are being given in terms of 20 year exclusionary periods (See for eg, 8th and 9th para of my previous post on Patents and Innovation here), to more fundamental questions of how much, if at all, external incentives are required in the first place. (See for eg, Eric Johnson’s paper on IP and the Incentive

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Guest Post: Plain Packaging Laws for Tobacco Products

/ By / Trademark

L. Gopika Murthy submits her second piece for the SpicyIP Fellowship with a guest post on Plain Packaging Laws. The submission discusses the purpose of plain packaging laws as well as the effect of these laws on the intellectual property rights of the tobacco companies. Gopika is a 2nd year student at NLSIU, Bangalore and her first submission can be viewed here.  PLAIN PACKAGING LAWS Recently, a Private Members Bill seeking amendment to the present Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act

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Guest Post: Colours as Non-conventional Trademarks

/ By / Trademark

Rupkatha Basu, a 4th year student at KIIT School of Law, Bhubaneswar, brings us a guest post on a topic that we seem to have not managed to discuss enough on the blog – that of non-conventional  trademarks. Using Cadbury’s famous purple branding as an example, Rupkatha looks into whether colours can be given protection as trademarks in India. This is Rupkatha’s first submission piece for the SpicyIP Fellowship. For those interested in more on the topic, we’ve earlier noted

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Guest Post: The Unfair Competition Act, 2011 and its Implications on Indian Manufacturers

/ By / Competition Law

In yet another interesting submission to our SpicyIP Fellowship applicant series, L. Gopika Murthy, a 2nd year student at NLSIU, Bangalore sends us this well written post on a new IT specific competition legislation being implemented in USA and the implications it may have on Indian software manufacturers.  The Unfair Competition Act, 2011 and its Implications on Indian Manufacturers The Unfair Competition Act, 2011[1]is a statue that aims to deter unfair competition by penalizing manufacturers who use stolen Information Technology

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Guest Post: Pharma patent developments in 2012 – A review

/ By / Patent

As 2012 draws to a close, Madhulika Vishwanathan brings us a concise review of the year that was, for the Indian pharmaceutical landscape. Madhulika is a qualified patent agent, with a Masters in Pharmacology from UDCT, Mumbai. She has previously worked in the patent cell of a Mumbai based biotech company. This is Madhulika’s second post in our SpicyIP Fellowship application series. Her previous post is available here.  Year 2012 in retrospection: Cases which changed the Indian pharmaceutical patent landscape As

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Guest Post: Traditional knowledge patent applications: Need for deliberation

/ By / Uncategorized

We are happy to bring you yet another guest post in our SpicyIP Fellowship applicant series. Madhulika Vishwanathan brings our attention to the Dec 18th announcement of the final version of the Guidelines for Processing of Patent Applications relating to Traditional Knowledge and Biological material. Prashant had earlier commented on the draft guidelines here.  Madhulika is a qualified Indian patent agent, with a Masters in Pharmacology from UDCT, Mumbai. She formerly worked in the patent cell of a biotech company in

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Guest Post: Court rejects Apple’s motion for Permanent Injunction against Samsung

/ By / Patent

The Apple – Samsung tussle is one that has now almost frequently found its way into our blog. It’s being watched so closely due to its near symbolism of how patent wars may affect the landscape for technological innovation as we progress into an era where patent policy can directly affect more and more aspects of our lives. We are happy to present to our readers with a guest post on the latest US update on this international battle. Amshula

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SpicyIP Fellowship opened out to everyone interested

/ By / Uncategorized

In light of some more applications we’ve received from ‘non students’ for our SpicyIP Fellowship, we’ve decided to open it out to not just ‘students and recent graduates’ as first stated, but to all persons interested. The original post has been edited accordingly. Once again, for those interested in applying. – How to apply?  Fellows will be chosen based on quality of guest posts submitted to us over a 6 week period from 14th December, 2012 to 25th January, 2013. 

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