This post was published on 18th March, 2014.
In a copyright infringement suit between the DC comics (Plaintiff) vs. Mark Towle (Defendant) the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is to decide whether the Batmobile is protectable under copyright laws. Batmobile is a renowned vehicle that the caped crusader a.k.a. Batman uses for fighting crime in the city of Gotham. Known for its aesthetics, aerodynamics, and features such as jet engine afterburner, torpedoes/missile launchers, automatic tire inflator and…
This post was first published on 4th September, 2014.
India’s domestic Patent Laws have flourished prominently and recent patent rulings have suggested that Indian Patent Laws are consumer friendly. However, recent discussions with the US prompted a need for us to defend our IPR regime. In their view, the underlying Indian Law still tends to favor weaker rather than stronger protection of IP.
A number of issues raised in negotiations on TRIPS regime for implementation of Patent Laws in developing countries such…
This post was first published on 25th November, 2014.
Japanese Patent about a pain-killing drug extracted from 'Kratom' (Mitragyna Speciosa), a well-known Southeast Asian medicinal plant, is creating contradictions. Patent documents and other publications reviewed, are silent on the origin of Kratom utilized by Chiba and Josai. Patents have been issued in Japan and the US, and patent applications may be pending elsewhere.
How the Plant became a Painkiller drug?
In the early 2000s, Japanese researchers began analyzing compounds extracted from Kratom as part of a program to assess medicinal…
This post was first published on 14th November, 2014.
Next up in the series of Wacky Patents is a board game which has spooked people for ages! This humble board game has been a source of spook for many. Ouija (pronounced wee-jee) is derived from compounded French word, ‘Oui’ and German word, ‘Ja’, both meaning “Yes”. It was originally a trademark owned by Kennedy Novelty Co. which later became generic when people started to use the word for any talking board. What…
This post was first published on 16th April, 2012.
Germany is considered to be the birthplace of the automobile since late 1870's when Karl Benz and Nikolaus Otto independently developed four-stroke internal combustion engines. Germany has the largest share of passenger car production in Europe with over 29% market share, followed by France (18%), Spain (13%) and the United Kingdom (9%). Nearly six million vehicles are produced in Germany each year, and approximately 5.5 million are produced overseas by German brands.…
This post was first published on 8th April, 2011.
As pointed out by Supriya in her post, a compulsory license may be granted if a patent is not worked in India and reasonable efforts are made to acquire a license. Does the working of a patent in India mean that the patented invention must be manufactured in India? Reading of sections 83 and 84 of the Patents Act take us to that logical conclusion. The sections clearly point out that working…
This post was first published on 25th July, 2012
The 2012 Summer Olympic Games is scheduled to take place in London, United Kingdom, from 27 July. Since the Olympics is around the corner, we would like to share some interesting patents issued pertinent to athlete performance.
The patent (US6013007) discusses about a Global Positioning System (GPS) based personal athletic performance monitor for providing an athlete with real-time athletic performance feedback data. A feedback device, worn by the athlete is configured…
This post was first published on 5th December, 2014.
The Supreme Court's non-obviousness precedent commenced with Graham v. John Deere Co., and its companion cases, Calmar v. Cook Chemical and United States v. Adams, collectively referred to in patent circles as the Trilogy. This trilogy represents the Supreme Court’s first interpretation of the statutory non-obvious requirement. The principal issue in the trilogy was establishing the level of ingenuity necessary to satisfy the Section 103 non-obvious requirement that had been added to the Patent Act in 1952.…
This post was first published on 9th December, 2014.
Funding activities during the last quarter, especially when it comes to start ups, was great! Apart from the US$ 1 Billion Fundraising by FlipKart, India saw several start ups being funded at various levels. A Report indicates 93 deals and a total funding of INR 97,738 Million. With the FlipKart deal, e-commerce businesses lead the pack in percentage of start ups funded based on sector.
With respect to start up activities in the…
This post was first published on 2nd July, 2014.
A trademark is a sign that is used to identify goods and services as those produced or provided by a specific person or enterprise. It helps in distinguishing those goods and services from similar ones provided by another. For example, ‘Apple’ is the trademark that identifies goods and services manufactured and distributed by Apple Inc.
The object of trademark law is to deal with the precise nature of rights, which a person…