Traditional Knowledge

SpicyIP Weekly Review (March 13- March 18)

Here are the quick summaries of 4 posts, 7 case summaries and other IP developments that took place last week. Important IP cases that we’re missing out on? Especially from other High Courts?  Please let us know so we can include them!   Highlights of the week IPD for Madras High Court! The Court Directs the State Government to Notify the Rules Within 1 Week IPD for Madras High Court! In a huge development, the Madras High Court has directed …

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Webinar on ‘Traditional Knowledge as Intellectual Property: Opportunities and Challenges at the International Level’ [October 13]

We are pleased to inform you that the Microsoft IPR Chair and the DPIIT IPR Chair at Gujarat National Law University (GNLU), Gandhinagar are jointly organising a webinar on ‘Traditional Knowledge as Intellectual Property: Opportunities and Challenges at the International Level’ on 13th October, 2021. Webinar on ‘Traditional Knowledge as Intellectual Property: Opportunities and Challenges at the International Level’ We are elated to announce that the Microsoft- IPR Chair-GNLU and DPIIT IPR Chair-GNLU are jointly organising a webinar on “Traditional …

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Parliamentary Standing Committee Report on Traditional Knowledge: Idealistic Expectations or Unworkable Ideas?

Continuing our series of posts on the Parliamentary Standing Committee Report on Review of the IPR Regime in India, in this post I will be covering the Report’s recommendations on IPR and Traditional Knowledge (TK). The other posts on the Report can be found here, here, here, here, and here. Highlights from the Report The Committee Report’s observations on TK start off with a lament on how TK and indigenous inventions by grassroot level innovators often do not meet the …

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A Parliamentary Standing Committee Report that Challenges the Fine Balances Within the IP System

As some of our readers may have noted, a Parliamentary Standing Committee Report, titled ‘Review of the Intellectual Property Rights Regime in India’ was released on July 23, 2021. Though the report gives some word space to ‘public interest’ and similar concepts, the overall approach seems to be a very pro-industry one, with academia and civil society stakeholders not even being consulted, even though corporate trade groups’ and law firms’ views were heard (see para 2, introduction). The 153 page report …

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

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 …

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Enabling the Use of People’s Biodiversity Registers within Environmental Impact Assessments

This post was co-authored by Dayaar Singla and myself. Dayaar is a final year student at NALSAR University of Law. He is an editor of the Indian Journal of Intellectual Property Law and the Editor-in-Chief of the Law and Other Things Blog, which Late Prof. Shamnad Basheer was an initial contributor to. In this post we look at recent changes to the creation of People’s Biodiversity Registers (PBRs) as well as the draft Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) 2020 notification to …

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Cornrows and Cultural Appropriation: What is the Best Way to Protect Black Hairstyles?

We’re pleased to bring to you another guest post by our fellowship applicant Adyasha Samal, discussing the problems with the approach of protecting traditional cultural expressions (TCEs) under existing IP regimes, using hairstyles as an example of a widely appropriated TCE. Adyasha is a 4th year student at Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur. This is her second submission for the Fellowship. Her previous guest post can be viewed here.   Cornrows and Cultural Appropriation: What is the Best Way to …

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Bol Ree Kathputli [Tell Me O Kathputli], What IP Rights Do I Have in You?

We’re pleased to bring to you an interesting guest post by Dr. Sunanda Bharti on IP protection of kathputlis and other puppets. Sunanda is an Assistant Professor in Law at Delhi University. She has written several guest posts for us in the past as well, which can be viewed here, here, here and here. Bol Ree Kathputli [Tell Me O Kathputli], What IP Rights Do I Have in You? Dr. Sunanda Bharti Introduction The art of making kathputli was given life by the Bhaat …

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The Sustainable Seed Innovations Project: The Story of ‘Sona Moti’

In the next post in the ongoing series on The Sustainable Seed Innovations Project, Natalie Kopytko, Post-Doctoral Research Associate at University of Leeds shares the story of a variety of wheat recently named Sona Moti. In way of context, the post briefly describes the current revival of ancient grains globally, specifically Emmer wheat varieties. The story of Sona Moti demonstrates the issues of traceability in variety development and the importance of intellectually property-broad. The Story of Sona Moti Natalie Kopytko …

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The Sustainable Seed Innovations Project: Model Farms and Farmers in Seva

In the next post in the ongoing series on The Sustainable Seed Innovations Project, Natalie Kopytko, Post-Doctoral Research Associate at University of Leeds shares stories of farmers creating model farms to educate others about natural farming methods. The cultivation techniques are a crucial aspect to sustainable innovations; moreover, this story discusses community support and socio-economic sustainability. Model Farms and Farmers in Seva Natalie Kopytko Cultivation of traditional varieties, often termed Desi seeds, require no external inputs (chemical fertilizers or pesticides). …

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