MNCs and Patent Applications: The Tip of the Iceberg and the Iceberg itself

/ By / Patent

According to a news item that featured today in the Business Standard, the Novartis and Roche controversies may just be the “tip of a huge iceberg.” According to the report: “358 of 413 drug patent applications for the disease in India are from top multinationals. A city-based policy research group has found that multinational drug firms have filed over 350 patent applications for drugs used in cancer treatment. An analysis of pharma patent applications pending with the patent office by […]

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SpicyIp Tidbits: Federal Court of Canada nays Ranbaxys claims to Generic Lipitor

/ By / Uncategorized

The Federal Court of Canada has reversed a lower court order that had earlier held that Pfizer could not bar Ranbaxy from obtaining approval for manufacturing a generic version of Lipitor the cholesterol lowering drug. The appellate court has issued an order prohibiting regulatory approval of Ranbaxy’s product in Canada until Pfizer’s enantiomer (calcium salt form of Lipitor) patent-Canadian Patent No. 2,021,546 “(refer Spicyip post) on the blockbuster drug expires in November 2011. A Netherlands court has also restrained Ranbaxy

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SpicyIP Tidbits: Indian piracy in numbers

/ By / Uncategorized

An Indo-US film industry study has been doing some number crunching for piracy in India, of which Mint here gives us a sneak preview. The study titled The Effects of Piracy and Counterfeiting on India’s Entertainment Industry, set to be revealed at the Ficci Frames conference later this week, estimates that piracy and counterfeiting have lost the Indian entertainment industry almost 40% of potential annual revenues, approximately Rs16,240 crore (or USD 4 billion), as well as around 820,000 jobs. The

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SpicyIP Tidbits: Harpic vs Domex: an Indian Water-Loo

/ By / Comparative Advertising, Trademark

Another pair of FMCG majors in India have gone to the mattresses in yet another comparative ad case (there seem to have been a spate of these of late). Reckitt & Benckiser India (R&B) has moved the Delhi High Court seeking restraint on a Domex – Hindustan Unilever (HUL) ad that has allegedly brought discredit to its own brand Harpic. The court has reserved judgement on the matter. An agency article on this case can be found in BS which

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SpicyIP Jobs: Patent Attorney and University Patent Consultant for US Firm

/ By / Uncategorized

A friend of mine who works for a US corporation out of Bangalore informs me that they are looking to hire. I extract portions of his email to me spelling out what the respective jobs entail. If you are interested in either of these positions, please write to me at [email protected], with your resume. Please also specify which of the below positions you intend to apply to. Also, please feel free to forward this announcement to friends etc who might

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SpicyIP Tidbit: The North East on a GI roll!

/ By / Uncategorized

Just today after reporting on the proposed geographical indication for the Byadgi Chilli, the North East has decided to join the bandwagon and bring a smile to thousands of entrepreneurs in Assam and Nagaland! The Indian Chamber of Commerce, is set to file applications seeking Geographical Indication Registration for the distinctive Assamese gamosa (a traditional piece of Assamese clothing in white and red to be draped around the neck) and the famous Naga shawl.Seems like these garments are going to

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Copyright and Current Reporting: FilmFAIR!

/ By / Copyright

The Filmfare Awards. One of the biggest and most publicised events for the Hindi film industry. However, for the Indian IP enthusiasts, this name could now be synonymous with current reporting and fair dealing! Recently this award show was screened at a primetime slot on Sony TV (India). As with most important and well publicised functions, Sony had made sure that they had acquired the exclusive license to broadcast the show. However, there were several other channels on television that

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SpicyIP Tidbits: GIs getter spicier by the second!

/ By / Uncategorized

After the Mysore Mallige and Darjeeling Tea, the Minister for Commerce has endorsed the need for another much spicier GI! The Byadgi Chilli, grown in the Haveri district of Karnataka, is acclaimed for its colour and less pungent odour. Inaugurating a chilli processing plant that hopes to increase the production of the spice in line with demand, Minister Jairam Ramesh has stated this would definitely help farmer’s in securing higher prices and better export value. Looks like everything in IP

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SpicyIP Guest Series: Chris Ohly and Sal Patel on the US Patent Reform Bill

/ By / Innovation

In a previous post, we promised to bring you a guest post by a well reputed and leading patent litigator in the US, Chris Ohly. Chris has now sent us a very incisive piece on the latest US patent reform bill (co-authored with Sailesh Patel, another brilliant patent attorney and partner at Schiff Hardin). In particular, they focus on the highly contentious “damages” provision. Unfortunately, blogger does not permit me to post footnotes. I’ve therefore uploaded the complete version of

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Bajaj-TVS Feud- The Judgment

/ By / Patent

The danger with judging the worth of a patented invention or a patent application is that after understanding what the invention is all about, one tends to get wiser on account of an afterthought which makes the invention seem easy and or even obvious. It is absolutely imperative on the part of a patent examiner or a judge to control the urge to trivialise the invention so as to appreciate the inventor’s contribution at the time of making the invention

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