Category Archives: Overlaps in IP

Overlaps in IP Trademark Traditional Knowledge

Attars and Agarbattis: Protecting Traditional Cultural Expressions through Non-Conventional Trademarks

by SpicyIP July 15, 2021

We are pleased to bring you a guest post by Tahhira Somal, exploring existing frameworks of non-conventional trademarks, particularly those of smell marks, and assessing their role in the protection of certain traditional cultural expressions. Tahhira has a degree in Global Affairs, and is a final year LLB student at the Jindal Global Law School, Sonipat. Attars and Agarbattis: Protecting Traditional Cultural Expression through non-conventional Trademarks Tahhira Somal Nestled in Halsted, Chicago is a Michelin star restaurant that…

SpicyIP Weekly Review (June 28 – July 4)

by Anupriya Dhonchak July 5, 2021

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Topical Highlight Delhi High Court Clarifies Law on Arbitrability of Trademark Disputes In this guest post, Rounak Doshi discusses the position of law on arbitrability of trademark disputes in light of the Delhi High Court’s recent decision in Golden Tobie Private Ltd. v. Golden Tobacco Ltd. He notes that the Court considered this dispute concerning the breach of a trademark licensing agreement as arbitrable and referred it to arbitration. He examines the Court decision and notes that the plaintiff relied upon…

Special 301 Report 2021: Copyrights, Enforcement, and the Same Old Complaints

by Nikhil Purohit May 12, 2021

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The Office of the United States Trade Representative (‘USTR’) recently released its Annual Special 301 Report on Intellectual Property Protection (‘Report’). To borrow Swaraj’s description of an earlier Report, the Special 301 Report “is a unilateral measure taken by the USTR which essentially ranks countries according to how much the US appreciates their IP regimes, and this is used as a kind of [political] ‘shaming’ mechanism to coerce countries into ‘strengthening’ their IP regimes to match the TRIPS-plus standards that…

COVID-19 Data Exclusivity Drug Regulation Innovation Overlaps in IP Trade Secret

Earning Royalties off Covaxin While Demanding IP Waiver at the WTO: Saviour on the Streets, Hypocrite in the Sheets

by Anupriya Dhonchak May 11, 2021

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A frontline worker setting fire to funeral pyres at a cremation site.

As news broke out on May 3, 20201 regarding the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) earning royalties out of every dose of Covaxin sold, many were quick to chide the government for embarrassing itself by profiting off vaccines sold in its own country while seeking a waiver of all IPRs on patents, copyright, industrial design and undisclosed information pertaining to vaccines for Covid-19 (covered previously on the blog here, here and here) at the WTO. In this post, I focus on the differential…

COVID-19 Drug Regulation Others Overlaps in IP Patent Trade Secret

Intellectual Property Rights in Covaxin – Part 2 (IP Ownership in Publicly Funded Research)

by Anupriya Dhonchak March 29, 2021

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This post was coauthored by Swaraj Paul Barooah and myself. In part I of this post, Anik and I argued that the government should waive the IPR in Covaxin in order to ensure that the vaccine can be rapidly accessed by the public. In Part II of this post, Swaraj and I analyse the broader issue of IP ownership in outcomes of publicly funded research. Part III explores opacity surrounding the clinical trial data generated during the Covaxin trial, which…

Protection of Jewellery: A Combination of Trademark, Design and Copyright Law? – Part I

by Varsha Jhavar March 5, 2021

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The issue of IP protection of jewellery has hardly been discussed or adjudicated upon in India. Generally, it is understood that the sketch of the jewellery design can be protected as artistic work under copyright law, while the actual appearance of the jewellery, such as the configuration, pattern can be protected under design law. But, it’s more complicated than that. There are many questions without clear answers, such as, whether jewellery is protectable under copyright or design law in India,…

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

by Praharsh Gour October 20, 2020

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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…

Tattoos: The Tussle between Copyright and Publicity Rights

by Adyasha Samal July 28, 2020

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The world’s attention was first drawn to the copyrightability of tattoos when Victor Whitmill, the artist behind Mike Tyson’s face tattoo, sued Warner Bros for an imitative tattoo worn by an actor in Hangover II. Since then, I find that there has been a raging discussion regarding tattoo artists’ copyright over their tattoos, including issues like fixation, ownership and fair use. This post does not focus on these questions of copyrightability. Instead, it develops upon an important point raised by…

Overlaps in IP Patent Trade Secret

Can Patents and Trade Secrets Co-exist? : Delhi High Court Answers in the Negative

by SpicyIP April 3, 2020

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We’re pleased to bring to you a post by Aditya Gupta on the Delhi High Court’s recent decision on the interplay between trade secrets and patents. Aditya is an attorney at Ira Law. He graduated from National Law University, Jodhpur and then pursued a master’s in law from Harvard Law School. Before co-founding Ira Law, he was part of another law firm for 7 years and then an associate at the chambers of Mr. Amit Sibal. Can Patents and Trade…

Piracy, Privacy and Procurement: What Internet and Software Associations Had to Say About India to the USTR

by Divij Joshi March 16, 2020

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Following up on Prashant’s detailed coverage of certain commercial associations making representations to the US Trade Representative on its Special 301 Report, I looked into the representations made by prominent software and internet industry associations. Below, I summarise the India-specific recommendations of the following bodies – the Business Software Alliance (BSA), Internet Association and the International Intellectual Property Association (IIPA). India Continues to be a ‘Piracy Priority’ for the Special 301 Lobbies The business associations had little love for India…

Pro Patent { I have seen many cases where examiners raises mechanical objections when it comes to asking applicant to mention source and origin of biological resource & asking NBA permission... }
Murti Poolla { 1. I would pray where is the word “Research” defined in any of our Indian Acts. Also, in any Acts of Foreign Countries like US, UK and EU... }
Samrat { Well-noted. Instead of the moralistic position taken by the patent office, the more appropriate approach would be to ascertain whether the innovation is less harmful than the tobacco... }
Dr Kadam Avinash { Hi Kapilji! Can a licensee files for trade mark in the same on its own ? There is a Technology and IP lies with the institutions. There are... }
Ayushman Kheterpal { It might be interesting to consider whether "mode or principle of construction" or "mere mechanical device" exclusion in the Section 2 (d) of the Designs Act has the... }