In a significant development for Indian patent law, the Madras High Court dismissed a writ petition challenging an IPAB order that effectively upheld a probiotic patent. This is one of the rare Indian cases, where a patent has been upheld by the IPAB and that order has effectively been validated by a High Court. Very well-reasoned, this decision by Justices R. Subbiah and C. Saravanan has important propositions for both patent law and administrative law. But first some background. As we’d…

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Observations About the First IP & Innovation Researchers of Asia Conference

by Pankhuri Agarwal February 19, 2019

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We’re pleased to bring to you a guest post by Sumit Sonkar, a Ph.D. candidate in Law at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, on his observations on the First IP & Innovation Researchers of Asia Conference, recently held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Observations About the First IP & Innovation Researchers of Asia Conference Sumit Sonkar On January 31 and February 1, 2019, the Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah of Laws, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) hosted the first IP & Innovation Researchers of…

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SpicyIP Weekly Review (Feb 11-17)

by Rishabh Mohnot February 18, 2019

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Thematic Highlight I wrote a post on the extent of TRAI’s regulatory powers. The Supreme Court, in TRAI v DIPP, held that TRAI’s regulatory powers include the power to prohibit. Further, it held that a TRAI’s regulation are in public interest, and therefore, will remain valid even if they impinge upon rights under the Copyright Act, which only protects authors. I argue that the court’s findings on the purpose of the Copyright Act may be inaccurate in light of recent…

Update: European Union Agrees on Copyright Directive Text, ‘Upload Filters’ and ‘Link Tax’ Closer to Becoming Internet Norms

by Divij Joshi February 17, 2019

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In a major development in the European Union with repercussions for the internet at large, the European Parliament, the Council of the EU and the European Commission on February 13, 2019, agreed upon the final text of the new EU Copyright Directive. While the text of the new rules has not yet been released, and they are yet to be officially confirmed by the parliament and council, a press release by the European Commission stated that a political agreement was…

Supreme Court on TRAI’s Regulatory Powers (Part 2)

by Rishabh Mohnot February 17, 2019

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In my previous post, I had discussed the first issue that was discussed in Star India v DIPP, regarding the regulation of content by the impugned provisions. In this post, I will discuss the second issue concerning TRAI’s power to regulate content in light of potential conflicts with the Copyright Act, and discuss some relevant observations made by the court. Issue 2: Does TRAI have the power to regulate content? The determination of TRAI’s power to regulate content rested on…

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SpicyIP Jobs: Full Time & Consultancy Positions at K&S Partners

by Pankhuri Agarwal February 16, 2019

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We’re pleased to inform you that K&S Partners, one of India’s leading IP law firms, is looking to recruit for multiple full time as well as consultancy positions across its offices in Gurgaon, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai. For further details, please see the job description for each of these positions below. If you are interested in applying for any of the positions, you may send your resume to Charu Gupta at [email protected] A. Full Time Position (1) Title: Associate Patent Nature…

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Justice Rajagopala Ayyangar Summer Fellowship 2019 [Apply by March 15]

by Pankhuri Agarwal February 14, 2019

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We’re pleased to inform you that the Inter University Centre for Intellectual Property Rights Studies (IUCIPRS), CUSAT is offering two Summer Fellowships under ‘IUCIPRS Justice Rajagopala Ayyangar Summer Fellowship’ program during April to June 2019. IUCIPRS has instituted this Fellowship to encourage teachers interested in IP research in India to spend minimum of two months during summer (April to June) at IUCIPRS undertaking research work in IP. Applications should reach the Director on or before March 15, 2019. The norms…

SaReGaMa Pa-rdon Me, You Have the Wrong Address: On the Perils and Pitfalls of Notice and Takedown

by Divij Joshi February 12, 2019

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The universe surely has a strange sense of humour. Imagine our surprise when we received a notice from Google Inc., that they had de-indexed one of blogs after a complaint was filed against it by Saregama India Pvt. Ltd. On December 13, 2018, Google informed us that: “Google has been notified, according to the terms of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), that some of the material found on your site allegedly infringes upon the copyrights of others. Although some…

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SpicyIP Weekly Review (Feb 4-10)

by Rishabh Mohnot February 11, 2019

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Thematic Highlight In the first of a two-part post, I wrote on the Supreme Court’s judgment in Star India v DIPP. In its judgment, the court delineated the regulatory powers of TRAI, in light of alleged overlaps with the Copyright Act. The court noted that the regulations passed by TRAI did not tread onto the ‘broadcast reproduction right’ granted under Section 37 of the Copyright Act. In the next part, I will discuss the court’s holding on the outcome if…

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A Second Opposition Is Filed Against Janssen’s Patent Application For The Fumarate Salt Form of Bedaquiline

by Prashant Reddy February 10, 2019

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Multiple news outlets recently reported about a pre-grant patent opposition filed by two TB survivors, with support from MSF, against a patent application filed by Janssen for a salt form of its experimental TB drug bedaquiline. In a press note put out by MSF, it was claimed that this opposition “…is the first ever challenge against a TB drug patent in India”. This is a factually incorrect statement. The patent application under challenge, as per Sandeep Rathod’s analysis of the…