A spate of new GI registrations in India. “The Geographical Indications Registry has granted GI certificate to Bidriware from Bidar, Channapatna toys and dolls, Nanjangud banana, Coorg orange, Mysore betel leaf, Mysore rosewood inlay, Mysore traditional paintings and Mysore agarbathi, thereby enabling producers and inventors to prevent others from exploiting their products without permission.”“We have accorded certificates to these items/products. The certificate owners will be the registered proprietors of the GI concerned,” an official with the Geographical Indications Registry told…

An interesting piece (titled “India lags in number of IT patents”) on the low levels of software patents in India, despite India’s global excellence “India may be the world leader in information technology but it trails in a big way when it comes to patents in the IT sector.While the top 10 patents holders across the world are IT companies, in India, no IT firm has patents. The list of top 10 patents holders in India comprises only pharmaceutical and…

A good friend of mine, Syed Saif Mahmood (senior partner at Amicus Juris, New Delhi) wrote to inform me of a PIL (public interest litigation) that he filed to ensure that the scary prospect in the title (A bureaucratic babu as IP chief!!) does not translate to reality. This reminds me of another instance where the government wanted to appoint a bureacurat to head the competition commission. The Supreme Court came down heavily on the governments proposal and suggested that…

Came across this wonderful news item today in the Hindu Business Line (the ‘Hindu’ is one of the most reputed newspapers in the country and their editorials generally reflect good scholarship) on how the government is now encouraging what are termed as “bio-diesels”. Coming close on the heels of the earlier post on incentivising bio-resource based innovation, this seems timely. I extract from the news: “THE Minister for Petroleum and Panchayati Raj, Mr Mani Shankar Aiyar, today announced that a…

Once again, the relationship between patent rights and public health has made mainstream media –and this time, in the context of the notorious AVIAN FLU, which is spreading rapidly. A recent news item states that Roche, which holds the patent over Tamiflu is unwilling to license it, despite the fact that it cannot produce enough quantities to cater to an outbreak, should one occur. It notes: “Tamiflu, a pricey antiviral pill invented in a Bay Area lab and made in…