Author name: Yashasvini Kumar

Spicy Tidbit: The words "Indian" and "National" to be used only by government institutions

The All India Council of Technical Education has come up with the condition that private institutions may no longer use the words “Indian” or “National” in their names any longer. Many institutions have gotten their signboards re-painted to comply with this directive fearing derecognition as a consequence. The Times of India has reported this as a copyright issue though it concerns the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act which doesn’t prohibit the use of these words. The problems […]

Spicy Tidbit: The words "Indian" and "National" to be used only by government institutions Read More »

India Pakistan and IP

India and Pakistan are battling over India’s attempts to get GI protection for Pashmina. Kashmir’s pashmina is different from its Australian variant but the problem is that over the years it has started being produced in India, Pakistan, Nepal and China. Apart from this the GI application is being opposed by Pakistan as it wants its Pashmina to also be given protection. The Kashmiri industry feels that the Pakistani product is not of the same quality. Kashmir boasts of producing

India Pakistan and IP Read More »

A boost to drug research.

Indian Pharma companies are entering into collaborations with foreign drug discovery companies so as to be able to benefit from the sharing of technology, knowledge and cost benefits. This will prove to be a huge boost to the Indian research scene which so far is in a nascent stage. Zydus Cadila is the most recent entrant into this synergetic process – working in sync with Swedish firm Kara Bio working on leads on inflammatory diseases. Advinus, which is developing drugs

A boost to drug research. Read More »

SpicyIP Tidbit: Oriya Lexicon to be published again.

The 76 year old Oriya Lexicon “Purnachandra Bhasakosha ” with over 1.85 lakh words and their meanings in English, Hindi and Bengali that was put together by late Gopal Chandra Praharaj, aCuttack-based lawyer and journalist was republished without permission from his family members in 2006. The District Court passed an interim stay order on the reproduction of the book but the dispute has now been settled with a lower court allowing the Larks Book publisher Mahindra Mishra to go ahead

SpicyIP Tidbit: Oriya Lexicon to be published again. Read More »

SpicyIP Tidbit: 2nd ARV drug to get patent protection in India.

Johnson and Johnson has gotten patent protection for its new ARV Etravirine – the only ARV to get such protection apart from pharma giant Pfizer’s Maravoric last year. The impact of this drug has not been determined yet and its being watched closely by NGO’s and civil action groups who are contemplating filing post patent oppositions. Logically the patent protection will make generic copies of the drug impossible to produce and in a country with an AIDS problem like ours

SpicyIP Tidbit: 2nd ARV drug to get patent protection in India. Read More »

Traditional Medicine not to get 5 year data protection.

The Government may not grant 5 year data protection to traditional medicines. The whole article can be found here. The change has been triggered by the Department of Ayurveda, Yoga,Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) taking the view that such a protection will lead to similar demands from the allopathic segment.It was the Department of AYUSH which had suggested such data protection in the first instance. An inter-ministerial committee has also been constituted which has come to the conclusion that such

Traditional Medicine not to get 5 year data protection. Read More »

Chikan to be only from UP.

There’s good news for the 100,000 artisans in UP working on chikan embroidery as the same will soon be eligible for protection as a GI. The application with the GI Registry at Chennai has been filed. This is also good news for those trying to promote Indian handicrafts abroad as 56% of the exports of the country come from UP. A figure which will probably rise with the protection being given to chikan work. The whole article may be found

Chikan to be only from UP. Read More »

A step ahead. A step behind.

The Motion Picture Association’s Operation Blackout has resulted in the arrest of 117 people in India. In Australia 426 burners have been seized along with 661,411 pirated optical discs ; In China 211 raids have been conducted and 676,384 pirated optical discs seized and similar statistics can be quoted for Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand. The operation targeted the illegal recording of movies once again and also attempted to spread awareness regarding piracy. Although the result of this

A step ahead. A step behind. Read More »

Tiger Trademark dispute comes to a head

The trademark dispute between Britannia Industries and French dairy and beverages giant, Groupe Danone is reaching a crucial stage as the matter is expected to come up in Court in Singapore early next week. The parties have the option of reaching a settlement at a pre-trial conference or going in for a full trial. The conflict is around the attempts of Danone [which holds a 25.5 per cent indirect stake in Britannia through a holding company Associated Biscuits International Holdings

Tiger Trademark dispute comes to a head Read More »

Are your pictures on Facebook?

The popular social networking site Facebook has come under fire for its terms and conditions which state that by putting up photographs on the site you grant to Facebook an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license to use, copy or publicly perform, display, reformat, translate and distribute such user content in connection with the site or its promotion. This may allow the website to use your photographs in its ads without seeking prior permission and may have serious

Are your pictures on Facebook? Read More »

Scroll to Top