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 4th July, 2014.
Compulsory Licenses are licenses granted by the government or the patent office, irrespective of whether the patent holder gives consent to such a license. For most types of Compulsory Licenses, the granting authority fixes the royalty payable to the patent holder. Compulsory Licenses, with respect to patents, are of various types:
General Compulsory License – Granted for all types of inventions when certain predefined parameters are satisfied;
Compulsory License in National Emergency,…
This post was first published on 10th June, 2014.
Trademarks are vital for the commercialization and growth of an industry. It is a valuable asset for a business entity as it acts as a link between the goods and the producer. It is through trademarks that consumers identify a particular product, as a result of which, it can be rightly said that the reputation of a company is built on trademarks.
As a brand gains popularity, it is subject to various…
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 11th August, 2013.
India has been officially notified as a member to the Madrid Protocol on 8th July 2013 joining 89 other countries including the USA and European Union.
What is Madrid Protocol
The Madrid Protocol is an international trademark filing system that provides a cost-effective and efficient way for individuals and entities to secure protection for their marks in multiple countries by filing one application with the Indian Trademark office. At present, there are a total…
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 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…