In this week’s Patent News – Amazon launches Project Zero in India; NRDC to offer full support to MSME’s in protecting IP Rights; Delhi Metropolitan University to organize Faculty Development Program on IPR; DRDO offers royalty free access to Patent Portfolio; WIPO publishes World IP Report, 2019; LG files patent infringement lawsuit against TCL; 3M and Sia Abrasives settle infringement dispute; Intellectual Property Office of Singapore and Japan sign MoU; EPO and CNIPA enhance bilateral cooperation; Irish Patents Office to change its name to Intellectual Property Office of Ireland and more new updates.
INDIA PATENT NEWS
Amazon launches Project Zero in India
Amazon has introduced Project Zero in India for the first time on Wednesday, last week. Amazon’s Project Zero is an effort to effectively control counterfeit goods that are sold on the platform by identifying, blocking and removing these goods. Project Zero ensures that Amazon’s customers have access to authentic goods. The Project was previously launched in Europe, Japan and U.S.A where more than 7000 brands have registered themselves. In India, a number brands have enrolled in the pilot program of the Project to understand and experiment the same.
For more information on Project Zero, click here.
NRDC to offer full support to MSME’s in protecting IP Rights
With the intention of combating lack of IP awareness in India, the National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) announced last week at an awareness program held in Visakhapatnam that it intends to offer complete support to MSME’s in protecting IP Rights. The program which was organized by MSME – Development Institute in association with NRDC, Visakhapatnam Chamber of Commerce (VCCI) and Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM) was aimed at bringing in IP awareness among MSME’s which according to the organizers of the workshop has been very low. How the NRDC intends to achieve this objective however has not been outlined as yet.
Delhi Metropolitan University to organize Faculty Development Program on IPR
The Delhi Metropolitan University (DMU) in Noida is organizing a “Faculty Development Program on Intellectual Property Rights and its application in Law, Management and Media.” The program will be held in the month of December between the 10th and 15th. According to the notification released by the University, the program is likely to benefit academicians, scholars and professionals working in the field of IPR. Interested persons may register by paying a nominal fee; the deadline to register for the program falls on 6th December 2019. Certificates will be awarded to all participants.
To access the official notification, click here.
DRDO to offer royalty free access to its Patent Portfolio
The Indian Defence Research Development Organization (DRDO) has formulated a new policy that allows the Organization to offer complete access to its patents filed in India without any licensing or royalty fees. With the objective to “provide boost to Indian industries and defense industries through free access to Indian patents,” DRDO’s patent portfolio that contains over 450 patents will be open to public for use without any licensing or royalty fee. In addition to the new policy, DRDO has also published a notification that lays out the procedure for use of DRDO patents. According to the notification, an application for licensing must be made through the DRDO website and a processing fee of INR 1000/- must be deposited. The Applicant is also required to disclose its financial and technical capabilities in a comprehensive manner, along with the application. All applications will undergo a screening process to determine whether the applicant has met the eligibility requirements and has provided all the required information. On completion of the same, a non-exclusive license will be granted for a period of 1 year. The Licensee is obligated to furnish details to DRDO, every year, regarding Working of Patents – Form 27. On completion of one year, the license can be renewed without incurring any additional costs.
DRDO’s patent portfolio primarily consists of inventions related to missile technology, aeronautics, naval systems, life sciences, armaments, combat engineering, electronics and communication material.
You may click here to access the official notification published by DRDO.
PATENT DISPUTES / INFRINGEMENTS / SETTLEMENTS/ LICENSING
3M and Sia Abrasives settle infringement dispute
3M, 3M Deutschland GmbH, 3M Innovative Properties Company and Sia Abrasives Deutschland GmbH recently entered into a settlement agreement ending their long-standing patent infringement dispute. 3M had instituted a suit against Sia Abrasives Deutschland GmbH and Sia Abrasives Industries AG in the District of Mannheim, Germany as well as the Federal Patent Court in St. Gallen, Switzerland. 3M’s patent essentially protected a “precision shaped abrasive grain” that is widely used in 3M’s Cubitron II products. The terms of the settlement between the companies remain undisclosed.
LG files patent infringement lawsuit against TCL
South Korean Electronics giant, LG Electronics recently filed a lawsuit against TCL Corporation in Germany for allegedly infringing three of its patents. According to the press release by LG, the lawsuits have been filed in the District Courts of two cities, namely, Mannheim and Dusseldorf. The patents related to the dispute protect LG’s inventions in the field of LTE technology. Prior to filing the suit, LG made several attempts to enter into a licensing agreement with TCL, however, TCL refused to do so. LG. Apart from instituting a suit against TCL, LG has previously filed a number of suits against various companies to protect its LTE patent portfolio.
INTERNATIONAL PATENT NEWS
Intellectual Property Office of Singapore and Japan sign MoU
Japan’s Industrial Property Cooperation Centre (IPCC) and IPOS International, a body that functions under the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to share their patent analysis and search expertise with each other. The MoU is expected to enable companies to protect and commercialize their inventions in an efficient way. The mutual agreement between the two parties is likely to benefit the offices by allowing access to patent search and analysis in both Japanese and Chinese languages. In addition to the partnership with, Japan, IPOS International has had extensive talks with the IP offices of China and Russia, since August 2019.
EPO and CNIPA enhance bilateral cooperation
With an objective of enhancing bilateral cooperation in the context of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), the European Patent Office (EPO) and the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) reached an agreement at the annual meeting of the Offices held in Suzhou. According to the agreement, Chinese applicants who intend to file PCT Applications with CNIPA as the Receiving Office (RO) can now choose EPO as the International Search Authority (ISA) if the application has been filed in English. Prior to this agreement, Chinese applicants intending to file an international patent application were forced to pick China as the ISA as it was the only option available to them. This new move is expected to be put into force next year. It will remain active for a two-year period as a pilot program.
WIPO publishes World IP Report, 2019
WIPO published the 2019 edition of the World IP Report on 12th November 2019. The Report was prepared after analyzing millions of patent applications and publication records over many decades. According to the Report 69% of the total number of patent applications and 48% of scientific activity have originated from 30 metropolitan cities during the period between 2015-2017. These cities are most likely to have been located in the following countries – China, Japan, Germany, Republic of Korea and U.S.A.
The Report states that innovation has lately become a collaborative activity. Further, Collaboration has crossed borders and has become increasingly international. The maximum number of international collaborations are said to take place in these top ten hotspots – San Francisco-San Jose, New York, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Boston, Shanghai, London, Beijing, Bengaluru, and Paris. They collectively account for about 26% of co-inventions.
You may click here to access the interactive maps.
Irish Patents Office to change its name to Intellectual Property Office of Ireland
According to an official notification published by the Irish Patents Office, the Patent Office will officially change its name to “Intellectual Property Office of Ireland” with effect from 2nd December 2019. In addition to this, the title of “Controller of Patents Designs and Trade Marks” will also change to the “Controller of Intellectual Property.” The notification says that the new name expresses the ambit of the office in the field of Trademarks, Designs, Copyrights as well as Patents. In furtherance to the change in name, the domain name of the webpage will change to www.ipoi.gov.ie.
Authored and Compiled by Vibha Amarnath
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