First Publication Date: 1st October 2010
Introduction
Article 1, Section 8, Clause 8 of the American constitution gives congress the power to promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries. In furtherance of the power granted to it by the constitution, the congress has enacted the Patent Law, which has been codified under Title 35 of the United States Code.…
First Publication Date: 16th August 2010
As per Section (35) of the Patents Act, 1970, the Controller may notify a patent application (i.e. a patent application before the grant/refusal) as a secret. The patent application may be of a class notified by the Central Government as relevant for defense purposes or may be up to the discretion of the Controller. The patent applicant is further prohibited from publishing information related to the patent application or communicating information related to the…
First Publication Date: 9th February 2010
Every now and then I come across this question, and most often it’s asked by individual inventors and start-ups. In most cases, when you invent something, the next logical step would be to raise funds and build a business around it. To raise funds you will have to disclose the idea/invention to several VCs, preferable after signing a non disclosure agreement (NDA). A NDA, in brief, is a legal instrument that binds the parties entering…
First Publication Date: 3rd January 2010
A patent was granted to Valasumani Lathe Works (“VLW”) for an invention titled "IMPROVED THRESHING AND SEPARATING MACHINE". The applicant in the case, Manivannan trading as Kumar Industries, filed an application for revocation of the patent before the Appellate Board. The applicant contended that VLW’s invention was not patentable in the light of the applicant’s patent application relating to a machine for threshing of corn, which was abandoned and the machines of the applicant,…
First Publication Date: 9th November 2009
In my earlier post I had discussed about the prosecution and litigation and the effects of prosecution on the outcome of litigation.
Friends, here is a case where the Delhi High Court has allowed a Patent holder to amend his claim (or, should I say extending the scope of claim) after a suit for infringement has been filed.
An Indian Patent (no. 190380) has been granted to AGC flat glass (formerly, known as Glaverbel). AGC files a…
First Publication Date: 1st November 2009
The government in the guise of the patent office is guided by the Patent Act and rules of the respective country to confer the necessary rights to the inventor(s) for his/her invention. The extent of the rights is determined by the scope of the claims in a patent application which the inventor(s) files with the patent office.
The two broad factors that largely tend to affect the scope of the claims are:
1) The prosecution history of…
First Publication Date: 1st November 2009
According to Section 10(4)(d) of The Indian Patent Act, every complete specification shall include an abstract section to provide technical information on the invention.
According to Rule 13(7) of The Patent Rules, the abstract section shall begin with the title of the invention. The abstract shall also indicate the technical field of the invention, the technical problem the invention solved by the invention, how the invention solves the mentioned problem and the use(s) of…
First Publication Date: 31st October 2009
More often than not, most of the companies, be it mid size or large, and in some cases even start-ups, seem to have some strategy or the other when it comes to filing patent applications for their invention. These companies would have identified the markets in which they want to protect their invention, and they also would be aware of the various methods of monetizing their invention/patent. More importantly, these companies would be ready to…
Introduction and Approach
A patent specification is considered to be a techno-legal document because of the presence of technical details of the invention and legal limits of the protection embedded therein. The language used in a patent specification has a combination of technical and legal jargons.
Patent specification is a document through which an inventor discloses the details of his invention in exchange for the exclusive rights awarded by the government. From a broader perspective, the government expects a patent…
A lot has been discussed in the past about patents in the entertainment field, especially interesting ones such as patents owned by entertainers (e.g. Eddie Van Halen for musical instrument support, Bill Nye for Ballet toe shoes etc.,)[1], patents directed to devices related to musical instruments, such as tuners or supports, or even new ways of recording. As the Internet and mobile devices have become more prolific, uses of the Internet and mobile devices have added new aspects to new…