There is no doubt that there is a backlog of cases at various IP offices in India. Recently some initiatives have been taken to make India’s IP dispute resolution system speedier and more efficient. The initiatives come from two fronts-Commercial Courts and Mediation.
The Civil Procedure Code (Amendment) Act, 1999 introduced Section 89, which speaks about arbitration, conciliation and mediation as alternative dispute settlement mechanisms. The Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 (modeled on the lines of the UNCITRAL Model Law)…
Hello there dear readers. This post commemorates every woman without whom man would probably find life an impossible experience. There are no second thoughts that over the last few decades or so, women have come on par with men in almost every field. Be it sports, arts or literature, women are giving their male counterparts a run for their money. Women these days hold some of the top positions in several big business organizations and women entrepreneurs are continuously setting…
In April, 2012, an anti-trust suit was filed against Apple for conspiring with book publishers to fix prices. The publishers agreed to give Apple a thirty percent margin in return for letting them control prices of eBooks on Apple Store. Amazon was at that time offering the eBooks as low as 9.99 dollars, and as a result the price of eBooks went up to 12.99 and 14.99 dollars. This was Apple's ploy to popularize its IPAD, which was launched in…
This post is about an interesting case relating to the use of the trade mark "MERCEDES-BENZ" by Együd Garage Gépjárműjavító és Értékesítő Kft. (‘Együd Garage’) in advertisements on the internet. The garage stated that it is an authorized Mercedes-Benz dealer. This case is filed by Daimler AG ('Daimler'), an automobile manufacturer which is the proprietor of the international trade mark "MERCEDES-BENZ" which is also protected in Hungary. The defendant is Együd Garage, a Hungarian company specializing in the retail sale of Daimler…
Fabrics that can save lives were unthinkable before the 19th century! Many soldiers and law officers are indebted to one woman's invention which has saved their lives, time and again.
Stephanie Kwolek, one of the first women research chemists, was a famous inventor who gained national recognition in 1960 for her work with long molecule chains at low temperatures. In 1971, she made a very important discovery which led to the invention of Kevlar, a synthetic material that is five…
Everyone is well aware about the medical syringe consisting of a cylinder with a nozzle and a piston for injecting or withdrawing fluids. But most of us don’t know the history behind it which has helped mankind over the past 120 years. Here is an interesting post that gives you an insight to the history of the medical syringe.
On Feb 12, 1896, Letitia Mumford Geer, an American lady filed for a patent application that discloses a medical syringe.…
“We must look to the limitless potential that lies ahead. To win the future, we must equip the young women of today with the knowledge, skills and equal access to reach for the promise of tomorrow” - President Barack Obama
It might come as a surprise to some of us but it was actually against the law for women to file patents in their own names, until the late 1800s. This meant that they had to file their inventions under…
"As the world evolves, so too does the growing role of women who are proving their infinite capabilities in today's complex workplace, and exhibiting a new usefulness now and for the future."- Mary Anderson
You may have never heard of the inventor featured in this post, but you have most definitely used her invention a hundred times, especially during rain or snow. Mary Anderson (1866-1953), was a native of Birmingham, Alabama. She was an American real estate developer, rancher, viticulturist and an inventor. The…
One of the first IP litigations to hit the open source community was the suit filed by SCO against IBM in 2003. In the suit, SCO alleged IBM of breach of contract, copyright infringement and trade secret misappropriation, among others. It alleged that IBM's insertion of portions of UNIX, owned by SCO, into LINUX, amounts to liability on various counts including copyright infringement. SCO initially claimed damages to the tune of one billion dollars, which was later increased to three…
"Women are always saying, 'We can do anything that men can do.' But Men should be saying, 'We can do anything that women can do.'" —Gloria Steinem
Hello readers, as most of us may know 8th March is celebrated as International Women’s day. The day is celebrated to honour women’s achievements all over the world, without any regards to restrictions like race, language, ethnicity etc. Even though the International Women’s Day celebration has its roots in the activities of labour…