The Novartis Patent Intervention

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With the recent recusal in the Novartis patent dispute, one is not sure as to when a new bench is likely to be constituted. Will it take a month? Several months? A year? Will there be more recusals along the way, given that the threshold for recusals has sunk really low? Meanwhile, for those interested, here is a link to a draft of the intervention submission I intend to file before the Supreme Court. It still needs cleaning up, but […]

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Anatomy of NATCO’s compulsory license application

/ By / Patent

We had in two previous posts (here and here) informed our readers about NATCO’s compulsory license (CL) application for Bayer’s drug Nexavar.  The actual application for grant of the license is now available here.  This post looks in detail at the specific grounds taken in the CL application and does not cover any other material.  Biospectrum Asia edition has carried an excellent piece on this CL application and has included comments from officials from Bayer, NATCO and our very own, Shamnad.  In India, the drug

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Part II: Gandhi Trademark Opposition filed in Ecuador

/ By / Trademark

In continuation of our two part series on the Gandhi Trademark opposition filed in Ecuador, in this post we will look at the provisions in Ecuador law and the effect they are likely to have on the outcome of the opposition petition. We would like to thank Jeremy Phillips, founding member of IP Kat and Patricia Covarrubia from IP Tango immensely, for taking us through Ecuador’s trademark law and the provisions which would apply to this particular case. As stated

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In defence of Justice Dalveer Bhandari

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Let me begin this post by saying that I strongly disagree with the views expressed in the letter asking for Justice Bhandari’s recusal. In my honest opinion, with which some of my co-bloggers disagree, the entire episode has come across as an attempt to persecute an honest judge on the day the matter was supposed to be heard. How else is one to interpret a news report which is titled ‘SC Judge under attack from health activists’? The letter in

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Pondering Judicial Recusals

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recuse |riˈkyoōz| verb [ trans. ]challenge (a judge, prosecutor, or juror) as unqualified to perform legal duties because of a possible conflict of interest or lack of impartiality Recuse: a word that is foremost in the minds of many in the Indian IP community and perhaps beyond….a community that is closely watching the outcome of a protracted and highly contentious patent litigation, that has been mired in one controversy after another for the last 8 years or so. Recuse: a

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Full text of the letter asking for Justice Bhandari’s recusal from the Novartis Glivec dispute

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Below is the full text of the letter, dated 5th September, which was sent to the government asking for Justice Bhandari’s recusal from the Novartis matter. It has been reproduced with the permission of the signatories of the letter. We had blogged about this controversy over here. Let me also clarify that this information is being put up for only informational purposes in order to provoke a wider, more informed debate and I do not endorse the views contained in

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NATCO files compulsory license against Bayer’s Nexavar

/ By / Patent

NATCO recently filed an application with the Indian patent office for Nexavar, Bayer’s blockbuster drug for treating liver and kidney cancer on the grounds of exorbitant pricing and non-availability/limited availability.  The application was published on August 12, 2011.  The Indian patent rules provide a period of two months from the day of publication within which documented support or objections may be sent to the patent office.   In it’s application, NATCO claims that the drug Nexavar costs (approximately) 50 USD per tablet

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The Glivec Patent Saga: Its Raining Recusals

/ By / Patent

A highly contentious Supreme Court case involving the patentability of Novartis’ anti cancer drug, Glivec continues to be mired in suspense and controversy. And might just make it to the Guinness Book of Records for the most number of recusals. First, it was Chandrasekharan who refused to step down despite the clearest apprehension of bias (given that it was under his administration that the patent was denied and he saw it fit to sit in appeal over his own decision).

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Parallel Imports: The Unexpected Dumping of Section 2(m)

/ By / Copyright

In a rather unexpected development, the government decided to drop section 2(m) from the latest version of the copyright amendment bill. All the more strange, given that section 2(m) was the product of this very same government. And had received a thumping endorsement from the Parliamentary Standing Committee that reviewed the amendment bill. As many of you may know by now, Section 2(m) legalises the parallel imports of books and other copyrighted material into India and was part of the

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Towards an En-lightened Copyright Regime

/ By / Copyright

Many of us wait with baited breath as the latest set of copyright amendments are slated to be discussed the following week in both the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha. Given that this monsoon session ends by the 8th of this month, it is doubtful if the bill will clear this session. Most expect it to be passed over to the next winter session in November. The bill was initially scheduled to come up last week but was drowned

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