The patent provides a monopoly over an invention to the inventor. The filing of patents and its grant is a long tedious process that takes up to 2-3 years. Due to its nature of the invention and the cost that is involved with R&D, it is highly imperative to decide where to seek the patent rights and the expenses involved. An effective strategy of filing for patent protection will be to seek protection in the country of interest, where the pr...Read More

The Guidelines for Examination 2021, published by European Patent Office (EPO) came into force on March 1. Through these guidelines, a detailed explanation of the substantive and formal requirements is maintained. Few changes help keep up an effective stable text of the guidelines. Let us discuss some of the important changes that are done for Computer-implemented Inventions and Procedural matter....Read More

Legal firms are all more than mere companies. Firms and the attorneys who work for them are practicing a career containing responsibilities that extend past just economic aspects.This reality could distort the importance of attorneys to focus on financials, business models, value creation strategies, IT transactions, terms of the lease, as well as capital requirements. Moreover, su...Read More

In the process of research and development, improvements and/or modifications of an invention are routine steps to make the invention more useful or to overcome difficulties of the main invention.   A new independent patent application for the improvements and/or modifications of the main invention may not be possible due to the already filed patent application for the main invention. In such a scenario, the improvements and/...Read More

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under The Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MCI) has notified the Draft Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2021 dated February 9th, 2021 to further amend the Patents Rules, 2003 in the exercise of the powers conferred by section 159 of the Patents Act, 1970. The notification is made available to the public for any objections or rejections. These draft r...Read More

Trademark infringement has become very common with the advent of increasing business of diverse nature. The nature of a trademark is very important to understand and to assume how strong the case can be. In trademark registration, It is often suggested that the mark must not be generic and should be capable of distinguishing the goods from other goods or services. The generic and the descriptive mark are generally not strong and hence there is a lot o...Read More

Copyright protects the literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic work, cinematographic work, and sound recordings. This form of intellectual property gives an absolute right to the creator and the author for their work and any infringement can be claimed. Literary works also include computer programs, tables, and compilations including computer databases which may be expressed in %...Read More

In an increasingly knowledge‐driven economy, the individual or the business will invariably need creative or inventive ideas or concepts to improve an existing feature, add a useful new feature to your product or develop a new product. The market demands more creative ideas that can make life much easier. The business must develop such an idea or concept that solves a technical problem in an unexpectedly new...Read More

Getting a Patent is a long process and involves various steps. The disclosure has to be made to the public in all forms. The whole process from the filing of the patent till the grant of the patent requires more or less around 3-4 years and all steps are bound by respective deadlines, failing of which can result in loss of patent application....Read More

Patent agents are professionally licensed practitioners who have the license to practice before the patent office of the country. The patent agent has a lot of responsibility when it comes to preparation of the document and filing the same before the patent office and also advising with regards to patentability. When it comes to assisting inventors with completing and submitting all patent-application paperwork, paten...Read More

Compulsory licensing is the process whereby an authorization is given to the third party by the government to make, use or sell the particular product and even to use the process of the patent, without the consent of the patent owner. This process gives a free hand to the third party to exploit the patent as they want according to the use in that particular circumstance. This compulsory license found its genesis in ...Read More

The case of Ferid Allani vs. Assistant Controller of Patents discusses an important perspective with regards to the scope and applicability of Section 3(k) of the Patents Act. Section 3(k) denotes that the inventions which are mathematical or business methods or a computer program per se cannot be patented. The patent application...Read More

The IP was never an important part of any international agreement even after the enforcement of GATT. Even in various bilateral and multilateral treaty agreements, IP was never a subject for negotiations. The greater reliance on the contribution of technology and international trade moving at a faster pace have made IP, the central point of all the agreements, be it bilateral or multilateral after the 1970s and 80s. This era was greatly influenced...Read More

The latest case of Horizon Pharma vs. Dr. Reddy touches upon an important aspect of drafting the specification and indefiniteness in the US Patent Law. 35 U.S.C. § 112(b), which says that the specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and ...Read More

The latest case of Vectura vs. GlaxoSmithKline offers various insights on well-versed areas of patent law. This case touched upon aspects such as claim construction, infringement, and damages. Vectura Ltd. sued GlaxoSmithKline LLC and Glaxo Group Ltd. in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware, alleging that GSK infringed Vectura’s U.S. Patent No. 8,303,991 (9...Read More