Category Archives: Articles

With the advent of software patent litigation in India, it is high time for the courts to bring out a clear test of patentability to CRI… We live in a world of five billion smart machines connected to the worldwide web or the Internet. In a projection by Texas Instruments, there will be 50 billion smart connected devices by 2020. Many of these devices that are connected can be remotely accessed and controlled by a user through the Internet. For example, Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled devices let users know about the devices’ usage, location, and other information through the Internet. In addition, IoT-enabled devices can also be controlled remotely through the Internet. Some examples of IoT-enabled devices include CCTVs, air conditioners, cars, etc. This concept of connecting electronic devices to physical world through the Internet or through any other means (for example, Bluetooth) by which the data/instructions may be transferred to the device is called IoT. Needless to say that IoT essentially includes processing of data which leads to intelligence derived from the data in the device. This is how you, for example, know that your driver has been driving a car above a city speed limit while you are at home through your smartphone.…

The culture to be developed by legal professionals should be to emphasize rights as per the rule of law and not to impliedly drive the approaching public lose (a) focus of their rights on account of time taken to deliver results or (b) faith in the justice delivery system altogether… Throughout the world, lawful methods adopted for dispute resolution are meant not only for resolution but also to instil and maintain faith in due process and rule of law as to the protection of individual rights. The common man’s need to seek justice must be served with a timely remedy through institutions; therefore, strong mechanism and suitable methods for justice administration ought to be a high priority for the state. In India, the process for dispute resolution is laid out through the establishment of constitutional courts, constitutional appellate courts of remedy, commissions and tribunals constituted under specified enactments, subordinate judiciary (district courts, magistrate courts), consumer fora, formation of judicial enquiry commissions, appellate fora, revenue/quasi-judicial besides an emphasis on alternative dispute mechanisms such as mediation and/or arbitration. The Constitution of India, Parliament, State Legislatures are the creators of law on various subjects, while the Supreme Court of India too, in the past four decades, exercised its extraordinary constitutional powers to prescribe laws through judicial precedents on important topics such as environment, sexual harassment, to name a few.…

Will the UK retain its status as having an efficient and stable judicial system post Brexit is the million-dollar question… Law Society’s priorities following Brexit With Prime Minister Theresa May triggering Article 50 on March 29, 2017, preparations are underway for the UK to leave the European Union (EU) in a year’s time. England and Wales is recognized as a global legal center for providing world-class legal services, particularly for international, commercial transactions, dispute resolution, and arbitration. The Law Society outlined that in 2015, more than 22,000 commercial and civil disputes were resolved through arbitration, mediation, and adjudication in the UK. With the UK’s exit from the EU looming, the Law Society has identified the following key priorities which it is currently working on: Continued mutual access for solicitors to practice law and base themselves in the UK and EU Member States. Ensure that UK-based lawyers have access to EU courts, institutions, and the Unified Patent Court (for when it opens) and for their clients to have legal professional privilege. Continued mutual recognition and enforcement of judgments and respect for choice of jurisdiction clauses in the UK and EU. Maintain collaboration in policing, security, and criminal justice. Ensure that legal certainty is maintained throughout the process of withdrawal, including the transitional period.…

While the generics wage an uphill battle to bust patents for new chemical compounds, with the PTAB’s reliance on the US CAFC’s eternal and time-tested standard of LCA framework, it may not be easy to invalidate compound patents even under the preponderance of evidence standard… It is all about reinforcing the lead compound approach (LCA) for structural obviousness determination of new chemical compounds in chemical and pharmaceutical patents, which is trending at the United States Patent Trial and Appeal Board (US PTAB)! Synchronizing with the United States Court of Appeals for Federal Circuit (US CAFC)’s eternal and time-tested standard of LCA framework, the PTAB issued an Inter Partes Review decision (IPR 2015-0340 dated August 18, 2017) in Mylan Pharm. v. AstraZeneca AB1, to uphold the validity of patent RE44,186 (a reissue of U.S. patent no. 6,395,767) covering claims directed to AstraZeneca’s Saxagliptin (drug originally developed by BMS, the active ingredient in Onglyza and Kombiglyze XR). The LCA framework and the characteristics of a lead compound? LCA framework is here to stay and it may therefore be fair to conclude that LCA would continue to drive the structural obviousness analysis of new chemical compounds at CAFC and the PTAB! In doing so, the PTAB relied on one of the CAFC’s landmark pronouncements, Ostuka vs Sandoz, wherein evaluation of obviousness in new chemical compounds under the LCA framework involves a two-pronged inquiry considering first, whether one of ordinary skill would have selected one or more lead compounds for further development, and second, whether the prior art would have supplied sufficient motivation to modify a lead compound to arrive at the compound claimed with a reasonable expectation of success.…

The amendments to the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996 must help India institutionalize arbitration and eventually become an international arbitration hub… From circa 1991, when India was still under a controlled regime with the prevailing license raj to 2018, the country has gone through a paradigm shift in the manner in which business is conducted. Foreign companies entering India faced repercussions, and that was the genesis of international disputes. The prevailing mechanism for resolution of disputes through alternate mechanisms was falling short of the requirements of expeditious resolutions of such commercial disputes. Thus came about the overhauling of the prevailing laws and thus came about the promulgation of the Arbitration & Conciliation Act, 1996 (“the Act”). The Act from the beginning fell short of the requirements of the commercial world and ended up in multifarious interpretations and interferences by the Judiciary, consequently leading to huge delays. Business started looking for other viable options for resolving its disputes expeditiously, and thus, it was just at the opportune time that the Singapore Government noticed the huge potential of establishing itself as the hub of International Arbitration with countries like India, China, Japan, and various others fast emerging as arbitration hubs. The Singaporean Government committed significant resources for building infrastructure and forming institutions like the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC).…

With strong precedents asserting copyrights’ being vested in show formats as literary and now as dramatic work, injunctions pinning down reality shows could be as much a reality… “Beyond the fiction of reality there is the reality of the fiction – Slavoj Žižek” As we see the Indian television industry evolve, reality shows are steadily growing footprint across screens. While the audience rolls its eyeballs to trip on reality and entertainment combined, producers and channels are learning to balance TRPs and competition. The latest judgment laid down by the United Kingdom High Court in the Banner Universal case reinforces the million dollar question ‘How can one protect the format of a reality show?’ This article aims to inspect the said judgment among others and delve into the jurisprudence involving TV show formats/ production bibles protection in India through Intellectual property rights. To seek clarity, one has been reaching out to the 1978 Supreme Court judgement of R.G. Anand vs M. S. Delux Films & Ors, where principles are laid down towards the said thumb rule including the following ones relevant to reality shows: a. There can be no copyright in an idea, subject matter, themes etc. and and violation of the copyright in such cases is confined to the form, manner and arrangement and expression of the idea by the author of the copyright work b.…

Commercialization of sports has become enormous. Marketing through franchising as well as brand building of sports, sportsmen, and events has gained gigantic importance. In such a scenario, Intellectual Property protection is needed as a safeguard. For the people who run the show, it is a multi-billion business, and protecting this business is the strong arm of Intellectual Property… Sports, for a very long time, was just considered to be a recreational activity. However, it has now become one of the major sources of entertainment and a big market for business. The Sporting Events are no longer just Sporting Events as money has now acquired an enormous role in all sporting events and the Corporatization of sports has become massive. A major portion of revenue flows from various activities such as branding, merchandising, licensing, etc. which involve exploitation of various Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) of sports clubs/ teams. In the formation of a sports team or club or organizing of a sporting event, a great deal of Intellectual Property (IP) is generated. Marketing through franchising as well as brand building of sports, sportsmen, and the sporting event has gained gigantic importance, surpassing all other major aspects of a game. Popular games such as cricket, football, tennis, carracing, and so on have evolved into international sporting events with huge following, making way for colossal marketing potential for organizers.…

Chapter II of the Indian Patents Act, 1970 (hereinafter the “Act”) enlists inventions not patentable. Section 3(h) of the Act mandates that “a method of agriculture or horticulture” is a non-patentable subject matter The seeds of the current form of the Patents Law in India (“Act”) were sown in the form of a report on the revision of Patents Law, commonly known as the Ayyangar Report, 1959. In what may be construed as an attempt to safeguard the rights of the average farmer, Justice Ayyangar in his Report, 1959 clarified that prohibition under the current Section 3(h) of the Act was intended to apply to “inventions in the field of plant propagation by asexual methods” (paragraph 331 of the Ayyangar Committee Report of 1959). The understanding of the scope of this Section has led to inconsistencies associated with IPO decisions and the lack of clarity has affected the agro-chemical sector, in particular. Table 1 – Documents referring to Section 3(h) of the Act Relevant document Relevant portion Report on the revision of Patents Law, 1959 (Ayyangar Report, 1959) Page 121 – Patents for inventions in the field of plant propagation by asexual methods [which would fall under para (d)] are specifically permitted by the Patents Acts of the U.S.A.…

As society evolves and technology advances, what brands stand for and the manner in which they are advertised will also change… There is a reason why a trademark is the only Intellectual Property which can last for time immemorial. It’s because once a brand is created, it stands for something. Companies spend millions in creating brands, millions in marketing them, and further millions in protecting them. One may choose what a brand stands for. It may stand for quality, safety, a set of values, customer satisfaction, etc. There are no boundaries on what a brand can achieve in terms of what it stands for, and over time, the message which a brand carries may also change. But brands also need a vehicle to reach their consumers, and that vehicle is “advertising”. Advertising carries the message which a brand wants to convey to people in different forms, through different media, and to different audiences. There is a reason why companies spend mammoth sums of money on advertising. It’s because through such advertisements, the message which the brand wants to convey is achieved. This may play a significant part in a brand’s growth strategy and development. Brands and advertising are heavily impacted by social requirements and changes as society changes itself.…

Till the New Rules, the only way for a proprietor of a trademark to include its mark in the list of well-known marks was on the basis of the orders of Court/Registrar/IPAB Until the Trade Marks Rules, 2017 (New Rules), the Registrar of Trade Marks (Registrar) would consider including a mark in the list of well-known marks under Section 11(8) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 (Act). Thus, until the New Rules, the only way for a proprietor of a trademark to include its mark in the list of well-known marks maintained by the Registrar was on the basis of a decision passed by an authority like the Indian Court or Registrar or the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) determining its trademark as a well-known mark. The New Rules provide a mode of inclusion of a mark in the list of well-known marks. Under the New Rules, an application for determination of a mark as a well-known mark can be filed by a proprietor without waiting for a decision from one of the above-mentioned authorities. Under Rule 124 of the New Rules, a proprietor can file an application for determination of its trademark as a well-known mark supported by various documents listed as per the guidelines issued by the Controller General of Patents, Design and Trade Marks along with the payment of prescribed fees.…

The rapid growth of the international green bonds’ market demonstrates how the capital market can be utilized to address the consequences of global, nvironmental, and climate change Since the issue of the first green bonds by the European Investment Bank (EIB) in 2007, the market has grown exponentially, with a projected issuance of $200 billion in 2018 from $155 billion in 2017i. The rapid growth of the international green bonds’ market is demonstrating how the capital market can be utilised as a mechanism to address the consequences of global environmental and climate change. Green bonds can also be particularly attractive to investors looking for corporate social responsibility opportunities, in line with global best practice, which have not been available via fixed income investments till date. Green bonds are fixed income securities that are issued to finance or refinance environment and climate beneficial projects (green projects), such as renewable energy, waste management, and pollution prevention projects. The structure of a green bond transaction is very similar to that of a traditional bond. The difference, however, lies in the application of the proceeds and the auditing and reporting requirements. Issuance of green bonds has been largely driven by corporations and parastatals, with Poland being the first country to issue a sovereign green bond in December 2016.…