A recent decision from the Delhi High Court (HC) pertaining to the publisher of a weekly magazine, India Today, filing an application for an interim injunction at the Delhi HC so as to restrain Alpha Dealcom from launching a news channel with the name 'Nation Today', stresses the importance of submissions in response to an Examination Report made before the Trademarks Registry.
The publisher of India Today argued that the use of the word ‘Today’ infringed its Trademark. The Delhi HC held that,…
It may not be widely accepted but it is common knowledge that most knowledge-driven companies, sit on their intellectual assets/intellectual property until it's too late. Some may fail to recognize their valuable IP, others may show apathy, and others may not know what to do with the IP that they stumble upon. Even most IP-savvy companies sometimes fall into one of these three types. That being said, when a company does decide to increase its IP revenue, IP filing seldom…
Beginning with the inception of an idea through to the development, protection and commercialization of the idea, investments are needed at every step. The huge costs involved in the conversion of an invention to a final product/process, that can be commercialized to yield benefits, appears to be an insurmountable hurdle for several inventors and small to medium scale organizations. The cost for protection of an invention is nearly equal to the cost for developing and solidifying the concept.
The recent…
Magic is an art in which a magician performs seemingly impossible tricks for entertainment. When it began, people used to associate magic with evil and so the industry faced several hiccups . However, as a result of constant effort of many magicians of that era, people slowly became interested in magic, and came to accept it as a legitimate art in the 18th century. In this post, I will introduce a legend, who was not just a prominent magician, but also an inventor. It…
A patent right is a monopolistic right that is granted only after stringent scrutiny of the patent application. The right is not enjoyed by a patent applicant/patentee unless it is proved beyond reasonable doubt that this proprietorship is well deserved of the invention. Since this grant of patent right affects third parties monumentally, they are given an opportunity to participate and intervene in the grant process by filing oppositions and request for revocations.
An application can be opposed before grant…
India has upgraded Electronic filing facility of patents which was launched 5 years ago. The Indian Patent Office (IPO) first launched the e-filing services for patents in the year 2007 which enabled online filing of new applications for patents. The service is successfully being used by stakeholders. Appreciating the significance, the IPO has further developed the system so as to cover comprehensive e-filing for patents, wherein, in addition to online filing of new applications, subsequent filings have also been integrated. On…
This presentation gives an overview of intellectual property and its various species. It discusses some important types of IP such as patents, copyrights, designs, trademarks, trade secrets and so on, in the light of their relevance to business. Then, the presentation moves onto IP licensing, taking music licensing as an example. The nuances of music licensing are explained during the rest of the presentation.
The talk, unfortunately, not a part of this post, is filled with interesting examples…
The presentation on IP Licensing by Dr. Kalyan Kankanala at IIMB
The presentation on IP Licensing by Dr. Kalyan Kankanala at IIMB, gives an insight into the basics of licensing intellectual property. Beginning with a short introduction to the rights granted by IP, the presentation moves to some types of licenses based on the nature of transaction, field, type etc.
Kalyan then delves into the process of licensing and various steps involved in it, by taking patent licensing as an example.…
A patent is a monopolistic right granted by the government for a specific period of time in return for the disclosure of an invention which is in conformance with the patent laws of a country. The protection for the invention is initiated by making a strategy as to how and when a patent application should be filed and this monopolistic right comes to an end 1 year after the payment of the 20 th year annuity/maintenance fee. The life cycle…
Music licensing means transfer of exclusive or non – exclusive rights to use a piece of music which sometimes may be a complete song, a snippet of a song or an entire album or an entire repertoire for a set period of time, for a fee. Music licensing deals can take several forms, but generally all deals dictate the presence of a licensing fee, an expiration date of the licensing agreement, and terms specifying where and how the licensee can use…