Author name: Yashasvini Kumar

A round of bio-piracy for all.

/ By / Biological Diversity

Latha Jishnu’s article in the Business Standard brings to our attention that the problem of bio-piracy is ubiquitous and cannot be said to be one afflicting developing countries alone. She writes about the story of “Taqs” or Thermus Aquaticus a bacterium isolated by two scientists in 1966. Twenty years Kary Mullis a researcher for the Cetus Corporation went on to take an enzyme from Taqs and derive from it the Nobel Prize winning process called the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) …

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Cannes Controversy

/ By / Uncategorized

Indian controversies at Cannes seem to be stretching beyond what our celebrities are wearing with Reliance Big Entertainment embroiled in a copyright tussle with Mr. Avinaash Jumani, who handles international sales for the Mumbai-based family film distribution company, WEG India Pictures Pvt Ltd. The Telegraph reports that Mr. Jumaani is threatening to take legal action against Anil Ambani’s group on the grounds that the movie “Waiting for Clinton” (a project he says he has purchased) is on the list of …

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More cooks for the patent office broth

/ By / Innovation

The USPTO seems willing to consider innovative means of reducing administrative problems – they have decided to review suggestions from students of the George Washington University School of Business. In what promises to be an interesting as well as productive endeavour the “winners of the George Washington University (GWU) School of Business 2008 International Business Case Competition met recently with USPTO senior management to present their proposed solutions to the pressing issues of patent pendency and backlog at the USPTO.” …

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A new way to get medicine to the poor

/ By / Uncategorized

The Union government plans to open a national chain of what it calls “generic drug stores”, one in each district, to sell inexpensive, unbranded medicine with help from the Red Cross Society, non-governmental organizations, charitable bodies and consumer groups. The government might finance operating costs of these stores for four to five years, but they will have to sustain themselves over time. The ministry will soon issue ads inviting non-profit bodies to open generic drug stores and offer a 10-15% …

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IP controversy with the Sensex?!

/ By / Trademark

In November 2007 SpicyIP had covered the attempts of the Bombay Stock Exchange to acquire trademark protection for the term “Sensex” the abbreviation for Bombay Sensitive Index. The BSE had applied for registration of trademarks under Class 36, 35, 41 of the Trade Marks Act 1999. As of November 7, 2007 Sugata Ghosh & N Shatrujeet of the Economic Times had come to the following conclusions explaining the sudden move towards IP protection: 1. Following standard practices as most corporates …

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Spicy Tidbit: The song and dance continues.

/ By / Copyright

Here’s more on Bollywood and piracy. We’ve had a lot written on this topic recently including Kruttika’s post on representations before the US Congress, Aamir Khan and remakes as well as my own tidbits on Krazzy 4 and the USIBC study. There are two things I want to point out in this article. One is the link it makes between Bollywood, piracy and Indians abroad. Film Federation of India Secretary Supran Sen says tens of thousands of people in these …

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Compulsory for India?

/ By / Uncategorized

Here are two articles talking about or in one case implying the necessity for the Indian government to follow the Thai path with regard to compulsory licensing. In the Hindustan Times Sanchita Sharma talks about the conclusions reached by activists discussing IPR. Her article traces a logical path from the need for cheaper life saving medications to an Indian aspiration for the Thai model. The Thai government’s decision to issue compulsory licenses on essential drugs for HIV, heart diseases and …

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Spicy Tidbit: Jatropha Patents

/ By / Patent

The Jatropha curcas tree has great significance in India due its varied uses, some of which are listed below:1. seeds are crushed for oil used in lamps2. oil for soap3. the leaves have medicinal properties4. the bark can be used for making dye5. concentration of potassium in the plant makes for rich organic manure6. seeds can be used as pesticides.Most is significant iz that the non-edible vegetable oil of Jatropha has the requisite potential to provide commercially viable alternative to …

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Spicy Tidbit: Further developments with Krazzy 4.

/ By / Uncategorized

Mr. Sampath a reputed ad jingle composer dragged the producer and composer of the movie Krazzy 4 to the Court on the grounds that his tunes had been used without his permission. He prayed for an injunction preventing the use of his music in the movie as well as compensation and received both. Mr. Sampath has shot down rumours of this being a publicity stunt stating that his actions were aimed at reclaiming the dignity of young composers who are …

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Bollywood dancing to a "krazzy" new tune

/ By / Copyright

One thing I don’t think we’ve talk enough about on SpicyIP is the other threat to the music industry. Not piracy which we’ve written so much about and you’ve probably read even more about but plagiarism. Advertising jingle composer Ram Sampath has accused Rakesh Roshan (the producer) of using the songs “Break-Free” and the title track though the tunes are copied from his Sony Ericsson ad. The facts are a little fuzzy from here as The Hindu reports that the …

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