Patents and Innovation

/ By / Innovation, Patent

Recently in our SpicyIP (web) office, Sumathi pointed out an interesting article in the Economist to us. The article was pretty dramatic, to the extent that it essentially called patents nonsense. Indeed, it posted its fair share of examples of frivolous patents in support of its argument. However, in the course of our discussion over the article, Kruttika and I took decidedly different positions on how valid such a view was. We decided to do two contrast posts on the […]

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Indian "Bayh Dole" and Parliamentary Committee Hearings

/ By / Patent

CH Unnikrishnan of the Mint has an excellent review of the recent Parliamentary (standing committee) hearings on the Indian Bayh Dole bill. As Unni rightly notes: “In the first instance of its kind in Indian legislative history, a panel appointed by Parliament to suggest changes to a controversial Bill has asked the government to review the proposed law before it completes its task.” Not too surprising, given that this law is fundamentally and conceptually flawed. More egregious than the bad

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Second Annual Conference on Intellectual Property-hosted by Iona College

/ By / Uncategorized

Iona College (New Rochelle, NY) will be hosting its second annual conference on Intellectual Property, from April 30-May 1,2010.The conference aims at exploring intellectual property in a cross disciplinary context.Questioning  the evolution of intellectual property as a concept,the conference will be seeking answers to the impact of IP in the various fields and seeks to provide insightful answers and approaches. The keynote address will be presented by Dr. James Boyle and Nina Paley, writer and director of “Sita Sings the

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Delhi HC: Pre-grant Patent Application Rejections Appealable before the IPAB- II

/ By / Patent

In the last post, I had discussed the Delhi HC’s decision on appealability of pre-grant patent rejections before the IPAB. The post discussed the effect and import of the 2005 amendment on Section 25, Section 116 and Section 117A of the Act. In this post, the combined interpretation of Section 15, Section 25(1) r/w Rule 55, 117A and 117G has been dwelt upon. Section 15, Section 25(1), Section 117A and Section 117 G: Though it is clear that there must

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Delhi HC: Pre-grant Patent Application Rejections Appealable before the IPAB- I

/ By / Patent

This post has been split in 2 parts for the convenience of readers. To understand this post better, following is a reproduction of the relevant provisions of the Act: Section 15: Power of Controller to refuse or require amended applications in certain cases (1) Where the Controller is satisfied that the application or any specification or any other document filed in pursuance thereof does not comply with the requirements of this Act or of any rules made thereunder, the controller

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Nay Patent Linkages: Bayer v. UOI upheld by the Division Bench of Delhi HC

/ By / Patent

I had previously posted (click here for the post) on the judgment of the single judge of the Delhi High Court in relation to Bayer Corporation’s attempt to bring in patent linkages (click here for previous post on the same) through the back door. Bayer sought to prevent the granting of marketing approval under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act (DCA) to Cipla’s drug Soranib on the grounds that it violated its valid patent. The drug is used in the treatment

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The BT Brinjal fiasco: Time to pass the National Biotechnology Regulatory Authority Bill?

/ By / Uncategorized

The last few weeks have been witness to several very vocal, sometime violent, protests against the introduction of BT Brinjal into the Indian market. The Ministry of Environment under the stewardship of Jairam Ramesh has attempted to convince the Indian people that this latest innovation has been tested adequately as per the law of the country and that the same were safe both for the environment and for human consumption. The fiasco at the public hearings however is clearly indicative

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Payyanur Ring GI: religious sentiment no bar to registration

/ By / Uncategorized

The GI Registry recently issued an order on the Payyannur Pavithra Ring, a traditional adornment from north Kerala, stating that “the use of sentimental of religion does not bar for registration.” Payyannur Pavithra Ring, Artisans & Devp versus K Balakrishnan [2009 (41) PTC 719 (GIG)] – unfortunately I cannot find an online copy of this order – has observations which would have been more interesting than they are at present had they been better phrased. [Image from here] FYI, for

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Bombay High Court declines to hear interim CL applications; shows the Appellant the way to the Copyright Board

/ By / Copyright

In a concise 28 page Order dated 22nd January, 2010, a Division Bench of the Bombay High Court in the case of Music Choice India Pvt. Ltd. v. Phonographic Performance Ltd. has turned down the appeal of the appellant radio station to grant interim relief until such time that the Copyright Board heard and decided it Compulsory Licensing (CL) application. The radio station Appellant had filed a CL application with the Copyright Board back in 2007 after several rounds of

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Buckuchurbu and (re) Hydrating Indian Traditional Knowledge

/ By / Uncategorized

In an earlier post, I highlighted the alleged potential of Crofelemer, a drug to mitigate some of the sufferings in Haiti. This drug for tackling dehydration was based on ancient shamanic wisdom and is allegedly better than most rehydrating solutions known today. Closer home, a rare medicinal plant found in Arunachal Pradesh 3 years back is touted as having excellent re-hydration properties. An article notes the discovery of this plant, known interestingly as “Buckuchurbu” to the locals: “Begonia Tessaricarpa, last

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