“Indian elections and Patents on voting machines, Delhi High Court restrains Natco from manufacturing cancer drug, Samsung and Huawei end eight – year long patent dispute, Novartis thwarts attempt to invalidate its cancer drug in US and more patent news” presented by the Patent attorneys and experts of BananaIP Counsels, India’s leading Patent Firm.
Quote of the Week
“Ideas in your mind have no patent value. They must be expressed or reduced to practice before it is too late” – Dr. Kalyan C. Kankanala, Author, Professor and Leading IP Attorney
Indian Patent Statistics
A total of 1034 patent applications have been published in the 20th issue of the Patent Journal, 2019. Out of the1034 applications published in the journal, 202 applications account for early publications while 832 applications account for ordinary publications or publications occurring after the 18 – month period. A total of 279 applications have been granted last week as compared to 416 grants in the week preceding the last.
Early Publications
| City | Previous Week | This Week | Percentage of change |
| Delhi | 18 | 13 | 27.77 decrease |
| Mumbai | 82 | 68 | 17.07% decrease |
| Chennai | 41 | 115 | 180.48% increase |
| Kolkata | 1 | 6 | 500% increase |
| Total | 142 | 202 | 42.25% increase |
Ordinary Publications
| City | Previous Week | This Week | Percentage of change |
| Delhi | 223 | 294 | 26.18% increase |
| Mumbai | 49 | 71 | 44.89% increase |
| Chennai | 362 | 431 | 19.06% increase |
| Kolkata | 12 | 36 | 200% increase |
| Total | 646 | 832 | 28.29% increase |
TOTAL PUBLICATIONS (Previous Week): 788
TOTAL PUBLICATIONS (This Week): 1034
Percentage difference: 31.21% increase
First Examination Report (FER statistics)
A total of 986 FER’s have been issued last week. Applicants and their agents can check if any of their patent applications have been examined by referring to the journal available here.
| City | No. of FER Issued |
| Delhi | 391 |
| Mumbai | 129 |
| Chennai | 331 |
| Kolkata | 135 |
| Total | 986 |
PUBLICATIONS UNDER GRANT
| City | Previous Week | This Week | Percentage of change |
| Delhi | 128 | 89 | 30.46% decrease |
| Mumbai | 58 | 44 | 24.13% decrease |
| Chennai | 174 | 108 | 37.93% decrease |
| Kolkata | 56 | 38 | 32.14% decrease |
| Total | 416 | 279 | 32.93% decrease |
Number of Applications published based on applicant city
Of the total 1034 patent applications published in the journal last week, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kolkata have contributed a total of 65 applications. The total applications from each of the previously mentioned cities are as follows – 4 applications from Delhi, 9 applications from Bangalore, 33 applications from Chennai, 5 applications from Hyderabad and 1 application from Kolkata.
| List of Cities | 1st January 2019 to 17th May 2019 | 10th May 2019 – 17th May 2019 |
| Delhi | 429 | 4 |
| Mumbai | 271 | 13 |
| Bangalore | 510 | 9 |
| Chennai | 501 | 33 |
| Hyderabad | 175 | 5 |
| Kolkata | 122 | 1 |
Total number of applications published by the Indian Patent Office from the 1st of January 2019 till date: 16229
- Early publications: 1720
- Ordinary Publications: 14509
Total number of patents granted by the Indian Patent Office from the 1st of January 2019 till date: 7689
- Delhi – 2729
- Mumbai – 1082
- Chennai – 2575
- Kolkata – 1303
Indian Industrial Design Statistics
The designs office has registered a total of 393 designs this week. The total designs registered from the 1st of January 2019 till date now adds to a total of 5799 applications.
Total designs registered in the previous Week: 246
Total designs registered this Week: 393
Percentage Difference: 59.75% increase
Total designs registered from the 1st of January 2019 till date: 5799
Interesting Inventions of the Week
With the Indian elections drawing to a close, an interesting invention in the 20th issue of the patent journal caught our attention. This interesting invention is titled ACCURATE VOTING MACHINE (AVM) and just like our politicians, the machine promises to deliver a number of things. Read on to know more:
Patent Application No.: 201821011111
Applicant: Ravi Vipulbhai Parmar
Abstract: “The present invention relates to an Accurate Voting Machine (AVM) which works on the basis of electronic and mechanical engineering. The votes given by voters are stored in three different methods: Microchips, Analogue Counter and Stamping on Ballot Paper. Separate ballot boxes are present to store votes in different microchips, counters and ballot paper rolls, acquired by different candidates participating in the election. The voter can verify the vote cast by him by viewing the voter verification slip generated. The counting of the votes too can be quickly done and result of the election generated. The machine is simple to use and can be easily operated by minimal training provided to the polling staff. The speed of the election process increases by using the AVM and the expenses incurred decreases. It is a 100% safe and accurate voting machine.”(The abstract has been provided as is and has not been corrected for errors)
Patent / Design Infringements, Disputes, Licensing and Settlement
Delhi High Court restrains Natco from manufacturing cancer drug
The Delhi High Court last week restrained Hyderabad-based Natco Pharma from manufacturing NOXALK, a cancer drug, the composition of which was originally patented by Novartis. Novartis, which was issued a patent on the cancer drug containing an active ingredient called Ceritinib had approached the Court earlier in March this year seeking an injunction against Natco after it found that Natco had been selling a cancer drug containing Ceritinib under the market name of NOXALK.
In its arguments, Novartis alleged that Natco had filed a post-grant opposition with the IPAB and the Opposition Board had reserved its decision until 10th April 2019. Natco nonetheless continued to manufacture and launch the drug without waiting for the decision if the IPAB. Natco on the other hand argued that the molecule Ceritinib was neither novel nor inventive as it fell under the ambit of the Markush formula which was previously disclosed in patents held by AstraZeneca and Rigel.
Justice Pratibha M Singh in passing the order stated that – Natco Pharma was well aware of the fact that the Novartis’ patent stood granted and the fact that the post-grant opposition was pending adjudication. Natco therefore ought not to have launched the product while the decision on post-grant opposition was still pending.
The Court has also directed Natco to file its response to the injunction application filed by Novartis. The Court further requested the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks (CGPDTM) to pass its order on the post grant opposition before the next hearing of the matter scheduled for the 11th of July 2019.
Samsung and Huawei end eight – year long patent dispute
Recent reports suggest that Samsung Co. Ltd. and Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. have reached a global agreement with respect to a series of patents infringements suits. The tech giants have filed over 40 infringement suits against each other involving standard essential patents in a span of eight years. Since 2011, the companies have been allegedly making several attempts to reach a patent cross licensing settlement, all in vain until recently. The companies have now reportedly reached an agreement with respect to a mutually agreed framework for a Patent Licensing Agreement. The terms of the settlement have not been made public but it is expected that the companies will soon begin to drop their law suits. The main factor leading the settlement is that the smartphone industry is expected to move over to 5G in the next year, which has lead certain manufacturers to suffer a decline in sales. In addition to the changing market circumstances, losing patent infringement battles would prove to be detrimental to both the companies. Earlier this year, Apple Inc. and Qualcomm made a similar move by burying the hatchet between the two tech majors.
Novartis thwarts attempt to invalidate its cancer drug in US
In yet another news involving Novartis, the pharma major has been successful in defending the validity of its US patent on the use of everolimus, the active ingredient in Afinitor, to treat advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC). The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld claims 1-3 of the said patent reaffirming a 2017 decision ruling against New Jersey-based West-Ward Pharmaceuticals, also known as Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA.
Circuit Judge Kara Farnandez Stoll, S. Jay Plager and Raymond Clevenger III unanimously observed that a skilled practitioner “would not have reasonably expected success in using everolimus to treat advanced RCC as of February 2001” which is the priority date of Novartis’ patent in question. Afinitor which has been shown to slow the spread of cancer cells in the body was approved by the US FDA in 2009 for treatment of advanced RCC. The drug has since then been approved for use in the treatment of kidney cancer and breast cancer.
Authored and compiled by Vibha Amarnath & Gaurav Mishra
About BIP’s Patent Attorneys
Led by Senior Partners, Somashekar Ramakrishna, Nitin Nair and Vinita Radhakrishnan, BIP’s Patent Attorneys are among the leading patent practitioners in the country. They work with clients such as Mahindra and Mahindra, Samsung, HCL, Eureka Forbes, and Titan. They specialize in IT/Software, Electronics/Telecom, Mechanical, Automotive, and Bio/Pharma domains, and help clients with patent filing, prosecution, management and strategy in India, and across the world.
The weekly patent news initiative is a part of their pro bono work, and is aimed at spreading patent awareness. You are free to share the news with appropriate attribution and backlink to the source.
If you have any questions, you may write to BIP’s Patent Attorneys – contact@bananaip.com
Also read: Patent News -13th May 2019
