Ramesh Abhishek: dramatic improvement in examination and disposal of IPR applications<\/strong><\/p>\nRamesh Abhishek, Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) while taking part in the World IP Day celebrations at \u00a0Delhi, announced that there has been a “dramatic” improvement in the examination and disposal of IPR applications and that the commerce and industry ministry was taking all necessary steps to strengthen the intellectual property rights regime in the country.<\/p>\n
While it is true that the disposal of applications and examinations have spiked exponentially, the patent office seems to be disposing applications with far less stringency that the Indian Patent Office has been previously known for. This has raised concerns for many as a recent study alleged that the patent office is currently operating at an error rate as high as 72% and that seven out of 10 patents granted by the IPO are being granted in error.<\/p>\n
Patent office being modernized says Minister Suresh Prabhu<\/strong><\/p>\nCommerce and Industry\u00a0Minister, Mr. Suresh Prabhu at an event hosted by the CII (Confederation of Indian Industry) on the World IP day announced that the Commerce and Industry Ministry has taken several steps to protect intellectual property rights (IPRs) and promote innovation in the country and is currently engaging enforcement agencies including police department for proper administration of IPR laws. Mr. Prabhu, in his speech, highlighted that the ministry has taken up the urgent task of modernizing patent offices across the country to make them as efficient as the EPO or the USPTO.<\/p>\n
Patent Infringements, Disputes, Licensing and Settlements.<\/h2>\n
Microsoft accused of patent infringement<\/strong><\/p>\nInfernal Technologies and Terminal Reality have filed a lawsuit against Microsoft accusing the tech giant of willfully infringing two of the company\u2019s patents relating to gaming technology. The lawsuit states that games developed by Microsoft such as Halo 5, some Forza titles, and Sea of Thieves, infringe on Infernal Technologies\u2019 patents relating to lighting and shadowing effects in a game. The two companies have claimed that Microsoft has been aware of the technology that the patents involved since at least 2005. There is even evidence to back this up, as Microsoft itself tried to file patents in 2007 for similar technology, but was ultimately rejected due to patents owned by Infernal Technologies being already in place.<\/p>\n
Qualcomm easing patent licensing terms<\/strong><\/p>\n\u00a0San Diego-based chipmaker Qualcomm appears to be making an unprecedented move by easing the royalty terms for its cellular intellectual property portfolio. The new framework appears to be aimed at smoothing some of the criticisms of Qualcomm\u2019s past practices ahead of negotiations over new 5G technology licenses. Under the new framework, Qualcomm\u00a0reduced its estimate for patent licensing revenue for the June quarter to around $950 million, far below the number predicted by analysts.<\/p>\n
International Patent \/ Design Updates<\/h2>\n
UK ratifies Unified Patent Court Agreement<\/strong><\/p>\nUK has now ratified the UPC Agreement, an international treaty that provides for the creation of a new judicial enforcement framework for resolving disputes over new unitary patents and European patents that are not opted-out from its scope. In its statement, the UK government confirmed that there remains uncertainty over the UK’s participation in the new UPC system post-Brexit, despite its ratification of the UPC Agreement.<\/p>\n
USTR continues to place India, China and Others on priority watch list<\/strong><\/p>\nThe United States Trade Representative\u00a0(USTR) last week announced that India remains on its annual Special 301 report along with China, Canada and nine others in the list for not adequately or effectively protecting and enforcing IP rights or denying market access to US innovators and creators. In addition to its longstanding allegation that the Indian IP laws create challenges for US businesses in India and that there are inefficient IP enforcement measures in the country, the USTR cited new and growing concerns with respect to reductions in transparency by India\u2019s pharmaceutical regulator through the removal of a requirement that applicants submit information about a product\u2019s patent status and positions that India supports and voices in multilateral fora on IP issues.<\/p>\n
BananaIP\u2019s Patent \/ Design Tip of the Week<\/h2>\n
Frivolous inventions<\/strong><\/p>\nIn India, section 3 of the Patents Act provides a list of \u2018what is not patentable\u2019 under the Indian patent law. Section 3(a) for instance states that – an invention which is frivolous or which claims anything obviously contrary to well \u2013 established natural laws <\/em>is not patentable. Applicants must ensure that their invention does not fall within the scope of ineligible subject matter and refrain from filing patent applications for the same if it does. An example of a frivolous invention is the \u201cEvolution of species\u201d patent application that we earlier described in our section on interesting patents.<\/p>\nAuthor: BIP\u2019s Patent Attorneys<\/strong><\/p>\nLed by Senior Partners, Somashekar Ramakrishna, Nitin Nair and Vinita Radhakrishnan, BIP’s \u00a0Patent 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
If you have any questions, you may write to BIP’s Patent Attorneys – contact@bananaip.com.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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