In this week’s Patent News – India ranks 13th in international patent filings; BananaIP to host one day seminar on “How to obtain a patent in one year in India”; Bristol-Myers awarded $750 million in patent infringement lawsuit with Gilead; Nokia and Daimler to settle SEP patent dispute through mediation; Abraxis Bioscience withdraws complaint against Sun Pharma; Hong Kong to launch new Patent System; WIPO calls for comments on – Impact of AI on IP Policy; U.S.A and China reach consensus on issues regarding IPR protection; ARIPO publishes Notification of Amendments to the Harare Protocol 2019; EUIPO hosts Technical Workshop on Tools and Practices along with EAPO and other news updates.
Indian Patent News
India ranks 13th in international patent filings
The Minister of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Piyush Goyal, in his address to the parliament last week stated that a total of 5,852 requests seeking permission for filing applications outside India were received during 2018-19 by the Indian Patent Office (Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks (CGPDTM)). Out of these, 3,522 requests were from Information Technology (IT) sector.
Further, 966 International applications under Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) were filed during 2018-19 by Indian applicants at Indian Patent Office with a request to forward the same to World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Besides, 1,061 International applications under PCT were filed by Indian applicants directly to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). Mr. Goyal also cited the WIPO report to state that India ranked 13th in international filings during the year 2018 as per WIPO Report.
BananaIP to host one day seminar on “How to obtain a patent in one year in India”
BananaIP Counsels will be hosting a two hour session on ‘how to obtain a patent within one year in India’ on the 20th of December 2019. Changes in patent rules and proactive steps taken by the patent office have now made it possible to acquire patents within one year in India from the date of filing of the application. The cost of acquiring the patent on an expedited basis is not very high and the business / financial benefits arising out of early grants are very high.
Join us this 20th of December 2019 to learn how to get a patent grant within one year in India. To register for the event please click here.
Patent Disputes, Infringements, Settlements and Licensing
Bristol-Myers awarded $750 million in patent infringement lawsuit with Gilead
According to a recent statement released by Bristol-Myers Squibb, the pharmaceutical giant won a whopping US $752 million by way of damages after defeating Gilead in a patent infringement lawsuit. The damages were awarded to Bristol-Myers after a jury trial was held in Los Angeles, U.S.A. The jury found that Gilead’s Kite Pharma Unit was selling a technology called Yescarta, which is used to treat cancer. This act infringed a patent that is exclusively licensed by Bristol-Myers’ Juno Therapeutics division from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, situated in New York. While Bristol-Myers said that it was pleased with the jury’s decision, Gilead said that it will make efforts to reverse the same by employing post-trial motions and filing an appeal.
Nokia and Daimler to settle SEP patent dispute through mediation
Nokia has announced that it is halting legal action against German auto major Daimler and will instead settle the Standard-Essential Patent (SEP) dispute through mediation. Daimler however does not seem to be particularly interested and said it had a different legal opinion on the dispute. Daimler, along with Bury, Continental, Valeo and Gemalto had complained to the European Commission earlier this year about unfair and unreasonable fees demanded by Nokia for patents related to car communications. Nokia has also offered to negotiate with other car parts makers instead of only Daimler on the licensing fees issue.
Abraxis Bioscience withdraws complaint against Sun Pharma
Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company Ltd. (SPARC) recently made an announcement that Abraxis Bioscience has withdrawn the patent infringement complaint filed against SPARC in relation to its new drug application treatment for PICS (Paclitaxel Injection Concentrate for Suspension). Anil Raghavan, CEO of SPARC said “We are very pleased that Abraxis Bioscience LLC., has withdrawn its infringement claims paving the way for a successful launch as and when we receive necessary regulatory approvals.” SPARC is also expected to inform the USFDA regarding the dismissal of the complaint in order to have the 30-month stay vacated.
International Patent News
WIPO calls for comments on – Impact of AI on IP Policy
WIPO recently published a ‘Draft Issues Paper on Intellectual Property Policy and Artificial Intelligence’ listing down issues concerning the impact of AI on Intellectual Property Policy. In furtherance to the publication of the issues paper, WIPO has invited comments and suggestions from all member states and other interested parties. The paper identifies six major categories for discussions and comments, namely – Patents, Copyrights, Data, Designs, Technology Gap and Capacity Building, and lastly, Accountability for IP Administrative Decisions. In relation to these categories, WIPO has listed 13 main issues based on which the Organization is inviting comments. Interested persons may comment on any or all of the questions listed in the paper, which may be accessed here. The last day to submit your comments is 14th February 2020. You may click here to access the Official WIPO notification.
Hong Kong to launch new Patent System on 19th December 2019
The Hong Kong Patent Office in furtherance of its notification dated 11th October 2019 has launched a new patent system called Original Grant Patent. Based on the October notice, the Patents (Amendment) Ordinance 2016 and the Patents (General) (Amendment) Rules 2019 would come into force shortly on the 19th of December 2019. The Original Grant Patent seeks to provide a new route for patent applicants to obtain standard patent protection in Hong Kong by dispensing with the requirement to file prior applications corresponding with a designated patent office outside Hong Kong. The applicants will therefore have the option of filing standard patent applications directly in Hong Kong. According to the official notification, the Office will upload details regarding the filing requirements and procedures under the new patent system on its website – http://www.ipd.gov.hk/.
EUIPO hosts Technical Workshop on Tools and Practices along with EAPO
With the objective of reinforcing cooperation between the Eurasian Patent Organization (EAPO) and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), the EAPO hosted a Technical Workshop on Tools and Practices at its headquarters in Moscow, Russia. The workshop was held on 11th and 12th of December 2019 and witnessed the participation of IP Offices of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Republic of Belarus, Russia and Tajikistan. The workshop laid emphasis on utilizing the Design View tool developed under the European Union Intellectual Property Network (EUIPN). In addition to this, EUIPO assisted EAPO in drafting the Guidelines of Examination and also provided consultation services to EAPO regarding the implementation of their recently adopted Industrial Design Protocol.
ARIPO publishes Notification of Amendments to the Harare Protocol 2019
On 12th December 2019, the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) published the Notification of Amendments to Harare Protocol on their official website. The notification was published after the ARIPO Administrative Council made Resolutions at its 43rd Session held in Liberia between 18th and 20th November 2019. In furtherance to the same, the Administrative Council will adopt the Amendments to the Harare Protocol on Patents and Industrial Designs and its Implementing Regulations. The amendments will come into force on January 1, 2020. The official notification can be accessed here.
U.S.A and China reach consensus on issues regarding IPR protection
Vice Minister of Commerce of People’s Republic of China and Deputy China International Trade Representative, Mr. Wang Shouwen, issued a statement on 13th December 2019 affirming that China and U.S.A have reached a consensus on issues regarding protection of IPR. According to the statement, the countries have reached consensus on matters related to trade secrets, piracy and counterfeiting on e-commerce websites and trademark registrations. The countries reached an agreement after giving their assent to the text of the phase one economic and trade agreement. Phase one of the agreement contains 9 Chapters and is expected to attract foreign IP applications into China.
Authored by: Vibha Amarnath
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