First Publication Date: 7th December 2010.
Trade Secrets form an important part of intellectual property owned by most knowledge driven companies. Infact, patents and others are just the tip of the intellectual property ice berg of a company, the rest being trade secrets. Most countries including India do not have legislations protecting trade secrets and the law with respect to their protection emanates from court decisions.
Agreements have been recognized by Indian courts to be valid measures to protect secrets.…
First Publication Date: 7th December 2010
This is in furtherance of the post "Assessing patent risk in India".
Mitigation and management of patent risks assumes very high importance in the light of increasing patent enforcement in India. Risks from patents primarily come from infringement of patents of others. Some of the common strategies for risk mitigation are as follows:
a. Design around; b. Licensing; and c. Invalidation.
a. Design Around
Risks from a patent can be mitigated by designing around the claims of the…
First Publication Date: 6th December 2010
Licensing is one of the important ways by which companies generate revenue from their patents. Assignment or licensing is the only way by which many dedicated research firms, that develop a portfolio of patents through focussed research make money. For many knowledge driven companies patents add value by providing competitive advantage or business advantage through exclusivity. Decision with respect to investments in R and D are made by most companies based on possibilities of patent…
First Publication Date: 2nd December 2010.
Since the Neanderthal age man has been on a perpetual quest to improve its living conditions which has made it possible for science to advance from one stage to another. Man is a curious being and to satisfy its insatiable curiosity it has constantly been on the lookout for new things.
The essential human journey has witnessed visionaries and inventors who have always been in a race with time which has resulted…
First Publication Date: 27th November 2010
The most common devices used for transmitting the voice signal over a greater distance are pipes and other physical mechanical media. All of us as a child must have used this form for communication. Another device used for centuries for voice communication is lover’s phone or tin can telephone. The classic example is the children's toy made by connecting the bottoms of two paper cups, metal cans, or plastic bottles with string. But the invention…
First Date of Publication: 26th November 2010.
In the era, when the Scientific Revolution occurred and mechanics was established as science, Sir Isaac Newton was known as a scientist rather than a natural philosopher, the world took a massive step towards the modern world. The advent of newly invented machines became part of the daily and economic lives. Textile production was the bustling trade in 17th century but geographically it was focused mainly around Greater Manchester, Pennines and Lancashire. Thus…
First Publication Date: 28th October 2010.
Misuse of traditional knowledge and measures to prevent the same have been attracting attention since the turmeric patent controversy. After successfully revoking turmeric patent claims that formed part of traditional knowledge, the Indian government has taken numerous initiatives ranging from legislative and policy changes to documentation and creation of a library of information (TKDL). With the press and media joining the effort, the awareness with respect to rights of traditional knowledge holders , actions…
First Publication Date: 5th October 2010.
Kunnath Pharmaceuticals, Kerala recently received a patent for their product, Musli Power Xtra, an Indian herbal aphrodisiac for men and women. Musli Power Xtra popularly known as the ‘Indian Herbal Viagra’ is reportedly India’s first ayurvedic herbal formulation to receive a patent for the treatment of sexual dysfunction.
The herbs and ingredients which form part of the formulation includes the following: Chlorophylum borivillianum (Safed Musli), Mucuna purita, Withania somnifera, Moringa oleifera, Embilica officinalis, Tribulus…
First Publication Date: 5th October 2010
Open source has today become a necessity for most businesses. It is estimated that 99 percent of all companies using software use at least one open source component. The business value added by open source products makes them inevitable for every company. In addition to software, open source has today expanded its tentacles to many areas from open text books to open drug discovery and is fast spreading to other areas.No business shift happens…
First Publication Date: 4th October 2010
Technology Development Board (TDB) mandates to provide financial assistance to the industrial concerns and other agencies attempting development and commercial application of indigenous technology or adapting imported technology for wider domestic application.
TDB was established as per the provisions of Technology Development Board Act, 1995 by Government of India through Department of Science and Technology. The funds collected by the TDB are through industrial concerns under the provisions of the Research and Development Cess Act, 1986,…