Author name: Yogesh Byadwal

Yogesh is an analyst at SpicyIP. He secured the first prize in Shamnad Basheer Essay Competition (2025 edition). He is a Final year law student enrolled in the B.A., LL.B.(Hons.) at National Law School of India University, Bengaluru. (mail: [email protected])

The logo of Paladin Paints with an Elephant captioned with "Paladin Paints and Chemicals Pvt. Ltd."

JM Nadkarni v. Paladin Paints: Who owns the Patent? 

/ By / Patent, Trade Secret

(edited) In an excellent piece, Palak Shah explores a recent controversy involving Asian Paints (AP), Paladin Paints and Jayram Mangesh Nadkarni (JMN), Director and Technical Advisor of Paladin Paints.  Briefly put, JMN, after leaving AP as a Chief Technology Officer in the 1960s, began his own company in 1985 under the banner “Paladin Paints and Chemicals”. There, according to the piece, he invented a next-gen, green technology-based Single Pack Epoxy Resin (SPER), which provided superior adhesiveness and anti-corrosive properties without requiring any […]

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Seagate Technology LLC v. Daichi International: How to resell ‘refurbished’ goods under the Trademarks Act? (Part II)

/ By / Trademark

In the previous post, I discussed the various findings of the court in the present case regarding exhaustion, removal and replacement of the original mark and the requirement of ‘full disclosure’. In this post, I will answer as to why the court held that removal and replacement of the original mark was prohibited u/s. 30(3). Then, I will discuss Prof. Kur’s article wherein she discusses the distinction between ‘substantial’ and ‘simple’ repair of a good and the implications of that in the

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Seagate Technology LLC v. Daichi International: How to resell ‘refurbished’ goods under the Trademarks Act? (Part I)

/ By / Trademark

The judgment in Seagate Technology LLC v. Daichi International delivered on 21st May 2024 by the Delhi HC has the potential to change how the ‘refurbishment industry’ in India works. The industry for resale of used products has been a part of several trademark litigations in the past. (here) As I discuss in this post, the refurbishment industry has several stakeholders involved. However, constant litigations threaten the growth and expansion of the industry (here). The findings in this judgement, however, promise to turn around

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Law Commission’s 289th report- Trade Secret and Economic Espionage

/ By / COVID-19, Patent, Trade Secret

The Law Commission (LC) recently released its report no. 289- “Trade Secret and Economic Espionage”. (Part 1, Part 2and Part 3) In this post, I will discuss the key elements of the report and the draft bill proposed by the LC. First, I will analyze the provision on Compulsory Licensing of Trade Secrets included in the bill and discuss its upside and downside in the current form. Second, I point out the key provisions in the bill which indicate a shift from

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A meme with a picture of Robert Downey Junior depicted as patent office asking '"How was I supposed to know"

Google LLC v. Controller of Patents: Foreign Disclosure requirement and Patent (Amendment) Rules, 2024 

/ By / Patent

In Google LLC v. Controller of Patents, the court was hearing an appeal against the refusal to grant a patent on grounds of ‘lack of inventive step’, ‘lack of novelty’ and lack of ‘technical effect’ u/s. 3(k). In this post, I will not focus on the merits of the case. Rather, I will focus on the part relating to foreign application disclosure, discussed in Para 53-55. The court imposed a fine of Rs. 1 Lakh upon the Appellant for failing to

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A banner of 'Telugu Akademi' with its name written in English and Telugu

Is Every ‘Educational Use’ a ‘Fair Use’? Looking at the AP HC’s Curious Decision on Textbooks and Copyright

/ By / Copyright, Publication

In Addala Sitamahalakshmi vs State Of Andhra Pradesh, the Andhra Pradesh High Court held that no copyright vests in mathematical and science textbooks. It also observed that ‘educational use for the benefit of students and educational institutions’ is covered under ‘fair use’. I argue that the reasoning used to reach the above conclusions is both problematic and incomplete. The HC fails to take into account the relevant facts of the case in deciding the present case. In this post, I will

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DHC’s Concerning Order in Kudos Pharmaceuticals v. Natco Pharma: Will it lead to Evergreening? 

/ By / Innovation, Patent

Recently, a Single judge bench of the Delhi High Court, in Kudos Pharmaceuticals Ltd. v. Natco Pharma Ltd., granted an interim injunction in favour of Kudos Pharmaceuticals, restraining the defendants (Natco) from ‘manufacturing and selling, or in any manner, dealing with Olaparib, either under the brand name BRACANAT or under other brand name. In the present suit, Kudos, seeking a permanent injunction, argued that Natco was infringing the suit patent IN’ 720 (Claim 1 called ‘Olaparib’; species patent) by manufacturing and selling ‘its

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SpicyIP Tidbit: The Competition Act v. The Patent Act: Catch 22

/ By / Competition Law, Patent

The Supreme Court last week issued notice on a special leave petition filed by the Competition Commission of India(CCI) against the Delhi High Court’s decision in Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (PUBL) v. Competition Commission of India and Anr. The main question before the SC is whether the provisions of Patent Act would prevail over the Competition Act in cases alleging anti competitive behaviour or abuse of dominant position.  Background In that judgement, discussed by Praharsh here, the primary question was whether an agreement relating to protection of

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Product-by-Process Claim: DHC to the Rescue

/ By / Innovation, Patent

The Delhi High Court (DHC) judgement in Vifor (International) Ltd. v. MSN Laboratories Pvt. Ltd.,explaining and allowing product-by-process claims as fundamentally concerned with the product in question, is of seminal importance for Indian Patent jurisprudence. In my opinion, the judgement, although verbose, brings much needed clarity on Patent-by-Process in India by locating it within the Act, laying out its scope and applicability and interaction with Process Patent u/s 48(b).  This judgement, decided by a Division Bench (DB) in an appeal against a

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A Relook at Business Methods in light of Madras High Court’s Decision in Priya Randolph v. Deputy Controller 

/ By / Patent

In Priya Randolph v. Deputy Controller, Madras High court rejected the contention that the subject invention was excluded for being business method. The findings of this short judgement have possible significant implications on the jurisprudence regarding 3(k) and business methods in the Patent Act. The judgement comes on the heels of  OpenTV v. The Controller of Patents and Designs in July which had rejected a patent application for being primarily a claim to business method. In this post, I will contrast the two

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