Category Archives: Overlaps in IP

A few days ago, I had written a post on the Delhi HC’s judgment in Greenlight Planet India Pvt. Ltd. vs Gee Lighting Technology dealing with a design-trademark overlap. The Court, in this order, had deliberated on the issue of whether a separate suit of passing off can be filed for a registered design after having filed a prior suit of design infringement. In their order, they limited their analysis to Order II, Rule 2 of the CPC (which does not allow…

Designs Overlaps in IP Trademark

Delhi HC Deals with Yet Another Design-Trademark Overlap!

by Prarthana Patnaik December 13, 2018

5 Comments

IP overlaps take place when multiple overlapping IP rights vest in an owner for a single subject matter. These overlaps have given way to numerous debates regarding over-protection, policy implications, statutory interpretation and many more issues. (To get a better understanding of the same, do refer to Prof. Basheer’s chapter in Overlapping Intellectual Property Rights.) Design-trademark overlaps, in particular, have had an interesting history in Indian litigation. A recent decision of the Delhi HC yet again brings these overlaps to the fore. In…

Overlaps in IP

Foreign IP Law Firms Defying SC Ruling?

by Prarthana Patnaik October 26, 2018

1 Comment

The issue of foreign law firms allegedly defying SC instructions in their practice in India was recently brought into attention by a complaint filed by Sumit Sinha, an advocate on record. The complaint was filed before the Bar Council of India, the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks and other authorities. It identified certain foreign law firms namely Zacco, Abu Ghazaleh, Mirandah Asia, United GIPS, Clydes and Anderson Global. Notably, all these firms have some sort of local presence in India…

Overlaps in IP Patent

India’s IPR Regime Looks to Hi-Tech to Improve Administration – From Video Conferencing to AI and Blockchain

by Divij Joshi October 23, 2018

2 Comments

The IPR administrative offices form the backbone of the legal system of India’s IP regimes. The efficacy of the law depends, to a large extent, on how these offices manage their administrative tasks, which includes substantive evaluation of claims over IP, as well as tasks of effectively maintaining registries and public records. We have written, in the past, about many worrying aspects of their administration, such as non-transparent functioning of the Copyright Office, or the skewed incentives system within the…

Obscenity and Morality under IP Law

by Prarthana Patnaik September 2, 2018

1 Comment

Obscenity under the Indian Penal Code (“IPC”) is a relic of India’s colonial past. Though the need for such a provision is often subject to debate, it is indisputable that the judiciary’s interpretation of this provision has been often been anachronistic in past instances. The judiciary has, no doubt, evolved from the infamous Hicklin Test (tendency of the impugned material to deprave and corrupt those whose minds are open to such immoral influences) to the contemporary community standards (testing the impugned material against contemporary…

Overlaps in IP Patent

India Breaks the Patents-Customs Linkage a Bit!

by Prarthana Patnaik July 1, 2018

Article 13 of the Controversial EU Copyright Directive

by Prarthana Patnaik June 26, 2018

2 Comments

The Internet as you know and love may change. The vote’s out! On 20th June, 2018, the European Parliament’s legal affairs committee (JURI) voted to approve amendments to Articles 11 and 13 of the EU Copyright Directive in the Digital Single Market. These Articles have drawn the ire of many since they require internet platforms to monitor copyrighted material uploaded on their platforms and to pay fees to news companies before linking their content. In this post, I’ll be solely…

Overlaps in IP Patent Plant Variety Protection

Can Monsanto’s Invention be Protected As a Plant Variety and Can It Seek Benefit-Sharing From Nuziveedu?

by Prashant Reddy May 15, 2018

1 Comment

One of the central planks of Nuziveedu’s defense in its ongoing litigation against Monsanto, that we’ve blogged about over here and here, is its claim that Monsanto’s invention is nothing but a “transgenic plant” with increased insect resistance and that the same could be protected as a “plant variety” under the Plant Variety Protection & Farmers Rights Act, 2001 (PVPFRA). As discussed earlier, this characterization of Monsanto’s claim may not be accurate but it seems to have been accepted by…

Others Overlaps in IP

World IP Day, 2018: Celebrating Women in IP

by Sreyoshi Guha April 26, 2018

Delhi High Court’s Judgment in Monsanto v. Nuziveedu Delivers a Deadly Blow to the Agro-biotech Industry

by Prashant Reddy April 15, 2018

1 Comment

A Division Bench of the Delhi High Court recently pronounced its judgment in the long running litigation between Monsanto and Nuziveedu. The present judgment was delivered in cross appeals filed by both parties against the order of a single judge of the Delhi High Court that was delivered last year. To describe the judgment briefly, the court has delivered a knock-out punch to Monsanto, by declaring invalid its patent for Bt. Technology because Section 3(j) of the Patents Act prohibited…