The Curtain Raiser Formal Guidelines for Examination clarifying Patent Examination Position on Computer Related Inventions in India
The much-debated and iterated ‘Guidelines for Examination of Computer Related Inventions’ formally released by the Office of Controller of Patents finally dawns the light upon the much elusive position on Software and Business Method Patents in India. The Indian Software Patent ecosystem for years has been echoing various voices behind the curtains – from the […]
“Well, You have not made out prima facie case for Compulsory License”: Notifies Rajiv Agarwal, Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks, to Lee Pharma!
In a major update for the patent circle (and of course Pharma industry), reportedly, Lee Pharma, a Hyderabad based Indian pharma company, which had filed a Compulsory Licensing (CL) Application on June 29, 2015, in India, against one of the patented drug Saxagliptin of AstraZeneca (used for treating Diabetes Mellitus), has failed to make out […]
OMG! Over 2.26 lakh patent applications pending with Patent offices in India for approval…Why? Shortage of professionals says Commerce and Industry Minister!
In worrying statistics, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, as reported in a news article dated 31st July 2015, informed parliament in a written reply to the Lok Sabha that as many as 2, 26, 339 patent applications are pending for approval with various Patent offices in India due to shortage of professionals. She also […]
Compulsory Licensing Application against the Patented Drug SAXAGLIPTIN by Lee Pharma
Lee Pharma, a Hyderabad based Indian pharma company, has filed a Compulsory Licensing (CL) Application (in accordance with Section 84(1) of the Indian Patents Act) against one of the patented drug Saxagliptin for treating Diabetes Mellitus. The Patent on Saxagliptin was granted to Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) in India on 30th April 2007 having number […]
Role of Documentation in Protecting Traditional Knowledge
Domestic and International laws prohibit the patenting of traditional knowledge of any local community. However, traditional knowledge, such as unique plants and their use is being usurped by unscrupulous players by patenting them in different countries. The only way to stall such moves is by providing prior art evidence proving that the knowledge was […]
News Snippet: Novartis sues Cipla for infringement of patents covering “Onbrez”
In the latest update, Novartis has sued Cipla for infringing its patents on “Onbrez” (Indacaterol) after Cipla launched its generic version for Indacaterol in October claiming “urgent unmet need” for the drug in India. Earlier, as we have reported here, Cipla approached Govt. of India to exercise its statutory powers to revoke the five patents […]
Vacation of injunction upon invalidation of patent by USPTO ePlus. v. Lawson Software
In a recent judgment, The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on July 25, 2014, vacated the U.S. District Court’s decision on injunction and contempt orders against Lawson Software and instructed the lower court to dismiss the patent litigation case brought by ePlus, Inc. This decision mainly pertains to two main issues. Firstly, […]
And we thought Java API’s were open?
Oracle vs. Google is truly one of the most amazing IP battles that I have personally observed in the recent past. What millions of developers and customers would have literally thought to have been considered open Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) when it comes to JAVA, is potentially turning out to be proprietary from the perspective […]
Patent Trolling and Fee-Shifting
Manish Kumar, the intern at Khurana and Khurana, Advocates and IP Attorneys, looks at the ‘fee-shifting’ paradigm in US Patent Act in light of US Supreme Court’s recent judgments. The US Supreme Court, in its two recent judgments, has re-instituted its pre-2005 stand where the Courts had the discretion of awarding reasonable attorney fees to […]
Examination Guidelines for Pharmaceuticals Patents
There has been limited judicial consideration of how patent law applies to pharmaceutical inventions in India. Little specific guidance is available to patent examiners in assessing whether a particular pharmaceutical invention satisfies the requirements for patentability. The absence of judicial guidance in this area is problematic. Indian Patent Office has published the Draft Guidelines on […]