Recent trends in disputes over patent validity in USPTO proceedings and in federal courts have raised concerns about the overall validity of patents issued by USPTO. Some observers, citing the extent to which the validity of granted patents has been successfully challenged, believe that USPTO examiners do not always identify the most relevant prior art, which has resulted in granting […]
Data from the Indian Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks shows that a total of 1, 45,060 patents were filed between 2013 and 20 July 2016. Of this, Indian citizens or organizations account for 39,318 while the number is 1, 05,742 for foreign nationals and organisations. Of the 12,442 applications filed in 2016-17, 3,248 are Indian applicants and […]
While India has always been an innovative society, much of the intellectual property (IP) created remains unprotected both on account of lack of awareness and the perception that IP protection is either not required or that the process to obtain it is unnecessarily complicated. The rationale for the National IPR Policy lies in the need to create awareness about the […]
In a press release dated May 6th 2016, NASA has released 56 formerly patent technologies into the public domain, making its government developed technologies freely available for unrestricted commercial use. These technologies were developed to advance NASA missions but may have non-aerospace applications and be used by commercial space ventures and other companies free of charge, eliminating the time, expense […]
India has decided against giving the compulsory licence for Anglo-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca’s key antidiabetes compound Saxagliptin sought by Hyderabad-based Lee Pharma. The Controller of Patents office rejected the application on the grounds that substitutes to the drug are readily available in the market and Lee Pharma’s claim that requirements of public with respect to the patented invention are not being […]
Indian Patent office in an Order Dated: 31/12/2015, has streamlined numbering system of Patent applications and also request for examination filed. This numbering system will be implemented from 1st Jan 2016. According to the new numbering system the patent applications shall have 12 characters length with format YYYYJTNNNNNN, where YYYY denotes year of filing, J denotes jurisdiction (1: Delhi 2: […]
The government on Thursday 29th Oct 2015, proposed amendments to the rules under the Patents Act to streamline the application process, as part of its efforts to improve the ease of doing business in India. The Indian Patent Amendments (Amendment Rules), 2015 released by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) on Thursday seeks to fast-track the patent application […]
Swiss pharmaceutical firm Helsinn Healthcare SA on October 13th 2015 said it has settled patent litigations relating to its anti-nausea injection Aloxi with Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd. The settlement will allow Dr. Reddy’s to market the generic version of Aloxi in the US on 30 September 2018 or earlier under certain circumstances, Helsinn said in a statement.The terms of the settlement […]
In a decision issued on September 22, 2015 Judge King ruled the copyright invalid, finding that though Summy Co. may have owned the copyright to “Good Morning to All,” it never had proper rights to the “Happy Birthday” lyrics. The “Happy Birthday” song dates to late 19th century work by a schoolteacher named Patty Smith Hill and her sister Mildred Hill The Hill sisters […]
Indian Patent Office has denied Germany’s Boehringer Ingelheim a patent on its key HIV drug, Nevirapine, for a version sold as Viramune XR (extended release). VIRAMUNE XR was approved in US on Mar 25, 2011 (100 mg and 400 mg, TABLET) and OB listed US patent will expire on Mar. 12, 2015. The application on the Nevirapine extended release formulation […]