Compulsory licensing cases and India have a peculiar relationship. They are in a way, soul sisters in the world of Intellectual property. Section 84 of the Patents Act, 1970 has always been the subject of intense debate. It hasn’t been very long since India issued its first ever compulsory licence to Natco Pharma, an Indian generic company, for Bayer’s blockbuster anti-cancer drug Nexavar (Sorafenib) in March 2012. Two other CL applications followed the Nexavar case, one relating to Roche’s Herceptin…
This is in furtherance of Kalyan's post, which looked at the issue largely from the philosophical perspective. I endeavor here to look at Statement of Working of Patents from the perspective of the statute and functioning of patent office and its priorities in today’s context. The provisions relevant are:
Section 146
Power of Controller to call for information from patentees
(1) The Controller may, at any time during the continuance of the patent, by notice in writing, require a patentee or a licensee,…
Working of patents is an integral element of the Indian patent system. In line with the primary objective of patent law, which is to promote the progress of science and technology for public good and economic progress, Indian patent Act specifically mandates working of patents in India. Failing such working, a compulsory license may be granted with respect to a patent , or in the worst case scenario, the patent may be revoked. (See CHAPTER XVI-
WORKING OF PATENTS,COMPULSORY LICENCES AND…
“To invent you need a good imagination and a pile of junk “– This is how Thomas Edison received a patent for the Kinetographic camera, a device for viewing moving pictures without sound. Edison patented this invention on August 1891. The camera was a giant step forward from the kinetoscope, which was not regarded as a significant invention by Thomas Edison. Kinetoscope comes from the Greek words “Kineto” meaning “movement” and “scopos” meaning “to watch”.
The camera was based on…
The post below gives statistical information about the progress made by India with respect to Pharmaceutical Patents.
The Indian Patents Act amendment of 2005 ushered in a new atmosphere for the Pharmaceutical industry in the country. The amending act of 2005 made the Patents Act, 1970 substantially compliant to the TRIPS agreement signed by India in 1995. This post seeks to provide a statistical analysis of “A Decade of Pharma Patents in India”.
The Pharmaceutical industry has perhaps been one…
How would you like to have Breakfast here in India, Lunch in America and be back home for dinner in India, all of it, being done on the same day!! Sounds unbelievable? Well, believe it! Patents seem to be flying out of the USPTO faster than the speed of sound! On July 14, 2015 a patent [US 9,079,661]was awarded to Airbus, also known as the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company for an invention titled "Ultra-Rapid Air Vehicle and Related…
The Indian Patent Office, after extensive consultative process, has issued an Order by which Chapter 08.03.05.10 of the Manual of Patent Office Practice and Procedure (MPPP), containing provisions pertaining to section 3(k) of the Patents Act, 1970, will stand deleted and replaced by the provisions of the new Guidelines, for examination of Computer Related Inventions (CRIs), with immediate effect.
The Guidelines, while outlining the legal provisions related to CRIs, extensively demonstrates what ‘Patentable Subject Matter’ means and what parameters are…
The post below gives statistical information about the number of patent applications filed and granted under various fields of invention, in the past decade.
On the whole, a consistent rise has been seen with respect to the number of patent applications filed. The number of applications filed under the Chemical, Electrical, Mechanical fields show a considerable upsurge, while the number of applications filed in fields like bio-technology and food has plunged.
During the year 2008-2009, a total number of 16,061…
This post takes a look at top patent applicants in India among IT Companies and Research Institutions during the last decade.
Among IT Companies Samsung and Infosys have made noteworthy progress. Samsung especially has not only expanded its research activities in India, but has also increased its patent filings substantially.
Among research organisations, CSIR and ICAR figure among the top filers. IITs, and IISc are among the top applicants among educational institutes.
The tables below provide details of patent numbers for five organisations…
The Indian Patent Office took heat for its incompetence when Valganciclovir was granted patent in 2007. The matter was remanded back to the Patent Office by the IPAB to reconsider and this time the patent was revoked. This decision comes at the time when India’s National intellectual property policy is in its final stages, awaiting approval by the Cabinet and with mounting International pressure from Pharmaceutical lobbies, rejecting patent of Pharmaceutical giant F.Hoffmann-La Roche AG will have repercussions. But why…