Rating Consumer Friendly Copyright Laws: India at No. 1

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After much criticism of the law and the lack of transparency in the system, Indian IP finally has something to cheer about! A study of over 16 States by Consumers International (which describes itself to be the “world’s only global consumer advocacy body”) has ranked India at the top of a list which globally surveyed “national copyright laws and enforcement practices from the perspective of how well they promote access to knowledge for consumers, by allowing them fair access to […]

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SpicyIP Tidbits: GI update

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It’s been a while since we’ve updated you on GI-related activities, and there have been several developments over the past few weeks, which I have tried to put together in a enhanced-tidbit-type post. Future GI updates will hopefully be less lengthy, and more timely! 1. GI for Banarasi sarees Last year, there were reports that UNCTAD intended to support a GI application process for traditional Banarasi silk sarees, which SpicyIP had picked up here. Latest news here and here suggest

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Ramkumar’s Lawyer Threatens "Defamation" Action

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Pursuant to our last post on the Ramkumar “Dual Sim” patent litigation, I received a very strongly worded letter threatening legal action against me from Ferdinand, a lawyer who represents Ramkumar. As many of you may be aware by now, Ramkumar’s efforts to unduly squeeze moneys out of cell phone importers by misrepresenting the scope of his claims has been denounced extensively on this blog. And naturally this must have irked Ferdinand considerably. Unfortunately Ferdinand has picked the wrong target.

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SpicyIP Tidbits: The ‘IP’ in the IPL!

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Along with everyone else cashing in on the success of the IPL, IPR firms do not seem far behind. With the objective “to protect IP, make a profit and increase brand valuation”, teams like the Deccan Chargers have opted to create an IP portfolio, including trademarks for team logos, copyright over player uniforms and website layouts.  The Mint reports that the exponential popularity of the IPL has led team owners to recognise the inherent brand value attached and proactively protect

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Generics now face trouble in Africa

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Indian generic drugs are facing a lot of trouble world over. Besides the many ‘in-transit’ EU seizures, and the high percentage of generic pharmaceuticals seizures by the US customs (which will be covered in a subsequent post), African countries are now looking towards new ‘anti-counterfeit’ legislation which are believed to have been due to the persuasion of European based multinational pharmaceutical companies. And as can be guessed, suggestions of persuasion by MNCs imply a maximalist IPR enforcement attitude. One of

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William New on WIPO Nominees

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William New, Editor in Chief of IPWatch, the most authentic and reputed source for any news/ analysis of international IP developments has a great piece on prospective names for top level WIPO posts. For those of you interested, IPWatch offers free subcription for readers from developing countries. In a previous post, we announced the filling in of one such post by NN Prasad (who was recently appointed as the Chef De Cabinet to the WIPO DG, Dr Francis Gurry). Hal

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Patent Database Petition: Techgoss Articles

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Thanks to all of you, we now have about 230 signatures on our petition requesting the publishing of more patent information. For those of you that still haven’t signed, we still have another 2 days left before we submit this petition. I also want to thank techgoss.com for highlighting this petition on their blog in two punchy pieces, authored by Bala Shah. I enclose an extract below: “The Indian Patent Office, like its counterparts in the world, has been set

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Ramkumar "Dual Sim" Case: Micromax Obtains a Declaratory Judgment

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Close on the heels of what might turn out to be India’s first “patent” murder, SpicyIP just learnt that Micromax has obtained an interim declaratory order against Ramkumar in a high profile patent infringement matter. By way of background, Micromax, a dual SIM cell phone importer filed a declaratory suit for non infringement before a court in Gurgaon (a satellite town close to New Delhi) asking that the court declare that Micromax’s imports of dual SIM phones do not infringe

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NN Prasad appointed as Chief of Staff to WIPO DG

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In a momentous development for India, NN Prasad, Joint Secretary at the DIPP (Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ministry of Commerce) has been selected as the Chef De Cabinet to the Director General of WIPO, Dr Francis Gurry. This is a very high profile appointment, as the post of Chef De Cabinet is akin to the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India. As many of you may be aware, NN Prasad has been instrumental in changing the

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Introducing IndianIPR.com: The Most Affordable IP Database

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I chanced upon an IP Database, “IndianIPR.com” and wrote to its founder, Manpreet Singh Sood to find out more. Upon being given access, I browsed it and found it to be an excellent resource for those of us looking for easy access to tailored India IP Information. In particular, it contains: i) Reported IP judgmentsii) All acts of Parliament, rules, forms, circulars and notifications pertaining to Indian IP. Importantly, the search engine is efficient and comprehensive and throws up results

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