Celebrating 20 Years of IP Excellence

Open source Licensing

Basic IP Practices for SMEs

This post was first published on August 6th, 2013.   Intellectual Property (IP) can play an important role in taking a SME to the next level in business, provided the company takes the right steps in the right direction. While the nature of IP actions to be undertaken by an organisation varies from company to company, there are some basic practices that every company must take to keep the option of taking advantage of IP, open. The upcoming editions of…

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The image depicts God. If the post is to be believed, the name of God van be trademarked too! Click on the image to read the full post.

Trademarking the Name of God? – Part 1

This post was first published on 2nd September, 2014.   If there is one question that can spark a controversy, it must be this - Is it possible to trademark the name of God? Section 9(2) (b) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999, which deals with Absolute grounds for refusal of registration, mandates that a mark shall not be registered as a trademark if it contains any matter likely to hurt religious susceptibilities of any class or section of the citizens of India.…

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This image depicts a bowl of jamuns. this post explores if jamuns can be patented. Click on the image to read the full post.

Strategy to Patent Jamun

This post was first published on 8th November, 2012. The Jamun patent saga, earlier reported to be the subject of government revocation has spurred discussions and debates across India on various counts, ranging from mode of revocation to CSIR's blind eye to Indian applications. My attempt in this post is not to add another opinion to the existing ones but to bring forth that a composition of Jamun can be susceptible to patent protection.  All of us in India…

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This image depicts managers in discussion.

They Are All Honourable Men

This post was first published on 10th July, 2012. The inevitable question once again - "How many IP managers know what they are doing with their IP?" While I am compelled to say all of them, it is sad that very few have a macro level picture. This opinion has not been pulled out of thin air, it is based on IP work of many professionals in the trenches. One reason for this gap, if I may call it…

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movie camera x

Harmonious Construction Can Ignore the Term Clause

This post was first published on 25th May, 2012.   The plaintiff Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd. has filed this petition in the Delhi High court against Amit Sharma & others. The case has been decided on 16th May 2012. Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd. contended that it held copyrights over the song “Thodi si jo pee le hai” from the movie “Namak Halal” and prayed towards restraining the Defendants from using the “Thodi si jo pee le hai” in their film “Department”; from releasing or…

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This image depicts the 'Trademark' and 'Registered' symbols. This post is a part of a series on what marks are permissible as trademarks. Click on the image to read the full post.

Part III: Descriptive Marks

This post was first published on 8th September, 2014.   In continuation to the earlier post where we covered the US approach towards protection of descriptive marks, in the current post, we will be analyzing the circumstances in which descriptive marks can be protected in the EU. The EU position towards descriptive marks is clearly stated under Article 7(1)(c) of the Council Regulation (EC) No. 207/2009, which is couched in the similar language as that of the provision in the Indian Trademarks Act 1999,…

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This image depicts Goddess Durga's face. This image is relevant for the post as it about trademarking the name of the Gods! Click on the image to read the full post.

Trademarking the Name of God? Huh! – Part 3

This post was first published on 8th September, 2014. In continuation to the previous post, we shall now have a look at other important cases where the issue of whether or not one can monopolize the name of the Creator by trademarking the name of God is discussed. In order to prevent unauthorized use of the picture of diety of Attukal Devi and description of "Sabarimala of Women / Streegalode Shabharimala (in Malayalam)", Attukal Bhagavathy Temple Trust has secured registration for the…

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This image depicts the Steam Engine invented by James Watt. This image is relevant as the post is about the invention which has brought the Industrial Revolution. Click on the image for more information

Invention that Revolutionized the Industrial Revolution!

This post was first published on 13th October, 2014.   Most of us have learned about the Industrial Revolution that took place in the 18th and 19th centuries, that ultimately resulted in the transition to the new manufacturing processes found even today. While I was reading about the industrial revolution, the question that flashed in my mind was, "Is there any invention that fueled the revolution?". Well, surprisingly (or not), the answer is a Yes! It's nothing but the Steam Engine. Let…

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This image depicts the logo of Onco. This image is relevant as The case was about a patent application filed by the Harvard College for a transgenic mouse. Click on the image for more information

Patentability of Higher Life Forms

This post was first published on 5th September, 2014.   Today we will be discussing a case where the patent grant was rejected by the Canadian Patent Office as higher life forms are patent ineligible subject matter under the Act. Canada (Commissioner of Patents) (Appellants) vs. President & Fellows of Harvard College (Respondents) Case: The case was about a patent application filed by the Harvard College for a transgenic mouse. In the transgenic mouse, the genome was genetically altered with the insertion of an oncogene.…

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This Image depicts the Copyright License Agreement. . This Image is relevant as the article deals with the Section 31(d) of the Copyrights Amendment Act,2012. Click on this Image for more Information.

Broadcasting Licenses under Sec. 31D of Copyright Amendment Act, 2012

This post was first published on 4th September, 2014.   The Copyright Amendment Act, 2012 has incorporated a new section into Chapter VI of the Copyright Act, which authorizes the Copyright Board to grant licenses to communicate to the public by way of performance of a literary or musical work and sound recording, which has already been published after paying Royalty fixed by the Board. One question that is frequently raised with respect to this section is its relevance and applicability  to…

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