Category Archives: COVID-19

COVID-19 Trademark

Tenability of Passing Off Action against ‘Covishield’ Vaccine of Serum Institute of India

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As you are aware of, Covishield, the vaccine candidate of Serum Institute of India was approved by Drug Controller General of India for restricted emergency use today. Pertinently, a passing off suit was filed against Serum Institute of India by a Nanded-based pharmaceutical company Cutis Biotech last month, which claimed to be the lawful and the prior user of the trade name ‘Covishield’. The trademark applications, which were filed by the Cutis Biotech and the Serum Institute of India, are…


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Copyright COVID-19 Design Patent Trade Secret

India on TRIPS Waiver: Will WTO Pass the Test of Humanity?

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Pic of the game Cards Against Humanity

India, through its Ambassador and Permanent Representative at the WTO, delivered a short but strong statement at the WTO TRIPS General Council Meeting held between 16-18th December, 2020, on the on-going TRIPS waiver proposal. (context here for those unaware of the waiver proposal – in brief, South Africa and India proposed a waiver for the WTO TRIPS provisions that relate to, i.e., restrict, vaccines, treatment options, etc for Covid-19, for the duration of the pandemic). Pointing out that making the…


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COVID-19 Event Opportunities

NFSI Panel Discussion on ‘TRIPS Waiver Proposal – State of Play and the Way Forward’ [December 18, 2020]

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Generic picture of a virus

We’re pleased to inform you that an online panel discussion on ‘TRIPS Waiver Proposal – State of Play and the Way forward’ is being organised on 18th December at 7:30 PM IST. For registration and other details, please see the announcement below. The discussion on the waiver proposal in an earlier two part post on the blog can be viewed here and here. NFSI Panel Discussion on TRIPS Waiver Proposal – State of Play and the Way Forward’  December 18…


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COVID-19 Innovation Patent

COVID-19 Vaccines: Patent Ownership and the Barriers to Equitable Access

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The race to develop vaccines for COVID-19 has edged closer to its finishing line with at least three candidates announcing positive results from their vaccine trials. While this may appear to be the light at the end of the tunnel, the focus now shifts towards equally challenging issues of availability, accessibility, and affordability of vaccines. In this post, I discuss the vaccines developed by Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca-Oxford, the complex ownership status of their intellectual property, the bilateral pre-purchase deals…


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COVID-19 Patent

Dapagliflozin Injunction Denied: Of Double-Patenting and Coverage-Disclosure Dichotomy

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In a very notable recent order, AstraZeneca was denied an interim injunction by the Delhi High Court against Intas Pharmaceuticals and Alkem Laboratories (Defendants) in a case relating to the manufacture of anti-diabetic drug Dapagliflozin, which allegedly infringed AstraZeneca’s patents IN 205147 (IN ‘147) as well as IN 235625 (IN ‘625). The order has revealed what could turn out to be a case of double-patenting that has escaped scrutiny for 17 years! It also explores important questions regarding coverage-disclosure dichotomy…


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COVID-19 Trademark

Trademark Trolls: Perspectives, Pitfalls and the Way Forward

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We’re pleased to bring to you a guest post by Manvee Kumar Saidha, analysing the effect of ‘first to use’ and ‘first to file’ regimes on trademark trolling, in light of the attention that the the recent Sony PS5 case has drawn towards the possibility of such trolling becoming a menace in India. Manvee is a 4th year law student at School of Law, Christ University, Bangalore. Trademark Trolls: Perspectives, Pitfalls and the Way Forward Manvee Kumar Saidha Trolls – a…


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Copyright COVID-19 Patent Trade Secret

Wishful Thinking? Analyzing India and South Africa’s Joint Statement to Waive Key Provisions of TRIPS- Part II

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In the first part of this two-part post, I assessed the joint statement proposed by South Africa and India for waiver of certain key provisions of TRIPS. Following the joint statement, 379 NGOs and members of civil societies wrote to WTO, in support of the waiver. On the day of the meeting, the proposal attracted the support of a large number of developing countries and LDCs, notably Tanzania, Chad, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Venezuela, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, Egypt, Indonesia, Argentina,…


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Copyright COVID-19 Overlaps in IP Patent Trade Secret

Wishful Thinking? Analyzing India and South Africa’s Joint Statement to Waive Key Provisions of TRIPS – Part I

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On 2nd October, 2020, India and South Africa issued a joint statement before the WTO TRIPS Council, with a request to waive “the implementation, application and enforcement of Sections 1, 4, 5, and 7 of Part II of the TRIPS Agreement in relation to prevention, containment or treatment of COVID-19.” This waiver, annexed with a draft decision for the WTO General Council, was requested to ensure that IPRs do not encumber the access to affordable medicines or R&D, manufacturing and…


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COVID-19 Patent

The Public Interest Defence, and the Public Interest Offence – What Is The Way Forward In This Pandemic?

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Meme frowning at the statement "Patent Rights devoid of socio-economic context", and smiling at the line "Patent rights part of social-bargain with public"

[This post was co-authored by Varsha Jhavar and myself. Varsha is a 5th year student at Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur. She recently won the second prize for 1st Shamnad Basheer Essay Competition on IP Law that was conducted by us earlier this year. She has also guest blogged for us earlier here.] On December 24th, 2019, the Delhi High Court had granted an ad-interim injunction in favour of Bristol Myers Squibb Holdings Ireland (BMS) for the infringement of patent number 247381 associated with…


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Copyright COVID-19

When Covid-19 Shuttered Cinema Halls!: Should Producers Share Royalties from OTT Release of Films?

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We’re pleased to bring to you a guest post by Tanvi Sehgal, discussing the impact of the Covid-19 induced shift from theatrical release of films to OTT release on the producers’ share of earnings and proposing an amendment to the cinema hall exception to the provision on mandatory royalty sharing under the Copyright Act in light of this shift. Tanvi is a guest faculty at the Faculty of Law, Delhi University, where she recently submitted her PhD thesis titled ‘Revisiting…


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