This post was first published on 19th September, 2014.
A thought is emerging in the US that the Alice vs. CLS decision was a game-changer and that software patent protection in the country has been seriously eroded. Let us see what happened between them and how it affects us.
Who is Alice?
Alice Corporation claims to be an innovator in financial markets. The Company has obtained patents on its innovations worldwide, including in the United States. It was founded by privately-held…
This post was first published on 3rd September, 2014.
All of us have experienced times when things don’t work the way we want them to when we really need them to. Exactly the same way, extended protection given to the patentee under the Doctrine of Equivalents (DOE) doesn’t always help you when you need it the most. Many a time, the application has to be amended in order to accommodate the Patent Law requirements, which is called the Prosecution History or File-Wrapper.…
This post was first published on 1st July, 2014.
After the recent, almost philanthropic action of Tesla's, there seem to be several nagging unanswered questions looming in our heads. Here are a few that we have addressed for you, Dear Reader.
Who is Tesla?
Tesla Motors is the name of a Californian Automobile Company founded in 2003 by a group of Silicon Valley Engineers who set out to prove that electric vehicles could be awesome.
Their sports car Tesla Roadster hit…
This post was first published on 20th June, 2014.
Have you ever heard about 'Patent Medicines?' While not confusing the term with patented drugs, we should note that this term was associated with drug compounds in the 18th and the 19th century. They were not patented but Trademarked Medicines and were termed Nostrum Remedium in Latin . These medicines were sold with interesting names and tall claims of curing a long list of illnesses!
Originally, patent medicines were named after the 'Letters Patent' granted by the English Crown.…
This post was first published on 2nd September, 2014.
Trade Related aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement under the World Trade Organization (WTO) came into effect in 1995 mandating all the developing member countries to bring in TRIPS-compliant national laws within ten years i.e., 2005.
India became a party to the TRIPS Agreement in April, 1994. At that time, India's then-current enactment of the Patent Act, 1970 directly contravened Article 27 of the TRIPS Agreement. Upon coming into effect on…
This post was first published on 5th January, 2014.
The Hon’ble Delhi High Court delivered another thought-provoking judgment on the 16th of December, 2013 related to the pharmaceutical industry. The plaintiff in the present case is Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma Gmbh & Co., a German company with its principal place of business in Germany, whereas the Defendant is IPCA Laboratories Ltd., with its principal place of business in Mumbai.
The Plaintiff has been using the trademark MUCOSOLVAN since 1979 in 56 countries including India for pharmaceutical…
This post was first published on 8th November, 2014.
Most places in the world, where traditional knowledge and folklore exist, face the challenge of multiculturalism and cultural diversity because they have both indigenous and immigrant communities. A balance has to be struck between the protection and preservation of cultural experience and traditional. Efficient cultural policies are required to meet the above challenges and free exchange of cultural experiences is required to make policies for effective protection of the same.
A further…
This post was first published on July 16th, 2014.
Patent protection is territorial in nature. A patent application filed in a country can entail the enjoyment of patent rights in that country only and thus a patent application has to be filed in countries where the applicant intends to gain protection. Thus in order to seek patent protection in multiple countries, the applicant will have to file the application in each of these countries. There is no limitation on the…
This post was first published on 14th November, 2014.
The secret of genius is to carry the spirit of the child into old age - Aldous Huxley
Every child is a genius.
I wish all SiNApSE readers a very Happy Children's Day.
This post brings you the knowledge about 4-year-old Sydney Dittman, who invented an aid for using knobs, called Aid for grasping round knobs (US 5231733), an extremely useful invention for the disabled. She invented it while playing with her toys…
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…