Celebrating 20 Years of IP Excellence

download

Denial of Opportunity to be Heard Violates Principle of Natural Justice

This post was first published on 16th July, 2014.   Today, we will take a look at a case where the IPAB ruled in favor of the appellant, remanding the case back to the Controller on the principle of natural justice! Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ) (Appellant) v/s Controller General of Patents and The Assistant Controller of Patents (Respondents) Case: This particular order is in response to an appeal filed by Ericsson against the order passed by The Assistant Controller of Patents rejecting the…

Read more

The image depicts a robotic child wearing a Graduation Hat. This image is relevant as the article is about Patent. Click on the image for more information

“Children, Don’t Just Invent, File Patents!”

This post was first published on 14th November, 2014.   The secret of genius is to carry the spirit of the child into old age - Aldous Huxley Every child is a genius. I wish all SiNApSE readers a very Happy Children's Day. This post brings you the knowledge about 4-year-old Sydney Dittman, who invented an aid for using knobs, called Aid for grasping round knobs (US 5231733), an extremely useful invention for the disabled. She invented it while playing with her toys…

Read more

This image depicts two person trying to put the puzzle together. This image is relevant as it was decided in the case of Sega vs Accolade that Reverse Engineering is limited by Reason. Click on the image for more information

Reverse Engineering is Legitimated by Reason: Sega v. Accolade

This post was first published on 11th November, 2014.   In one of our recent posts on reverse engineering, we discussed fair use for intermediate copying. Today, we will look into another landmark case that legitimizes copying based on a justifiable reason! In Sega v. Accolade, Accolade used a two-step process to create video games compatible with the Sega Genesis game console. The first step was to reverse engineer the system and create a development manual. Accolade purchased a Genesis video game console and three…

Read more

This image depicts a man twisting the arm of another person. This image is relevant as the topic itself has the question whether US is arm-twisting India. Click on the image for more information

Patent War: Is the US Arm-twisting India?

This post was first published on 4th September, 2014. India’s domestic Patent Laws have flourished prominently and recent patent rulings have suggested that Indian Patent Laws are consumer friendly. However, recent discussions with the US prompted a need for us to defend our IPR regime. In their view, the underlying Indian Law still tends to favor weaker rather than stronger protection of IP. A number of issues raised in negotiations on TRIPS regime for implementation of Patent Laws in developing countries such…

Read more

image for Patently Asia - A Drug War!

Patently Asia – A Drug War!

This post was first published on 25th November, 2014. Japanese Patent about a pain-killing drug extracted from 'Kratom' (Mitragyna Speciosa), a well-known Southeast Asian medicinal plant, is creating contradictions. Patent documents and other publications reviewed, are silent on the origin of Kratom utilized by Chiba and Josai. Patents have been issued in Japan and the US, and patent applications may be pending elsewhere.   How the Plant became a Painkiller drug? In the early 2000s, Japanese researchers began analyzing compounds extracted from Kratom as part of a program to assess medicinal…

Read more

This image depicts the name of OUIJA Board. This image is relevant as the post is all about OUIJA board and its use. CLick on the image for more information.

Wacky Patents 2 – Ouija Board

This post was first published on 14th November, 2014. Next up in the series of Wacky Patents is a board game which has spooked people for ages! This humble board game has been a source of spook for many. Ouija (pronounced wee-jee) is derived from compounded French word, ‘Oui’ and German word, ‘Ja’, both meaning “Yes”. It was originally a trademark owned by Kennedy Novelty Co. which later became generic when people started to use the word for any talking board. What…

Read more

Automotive Industry x

Indian Patent Portfolio of German Car Manufacturers

This post was first published on 16th April, 2012.   Germany is considered to be the birthplace of the automobile since late 1870's when Karl Benz and Nikolaus Otto independently developed four-stroke internal combustion engines. Germany has the largest share of passenger car production in Europe with over 29% market share, followed by France (18%), Spain (13%) and the United Kingdom (9%). Nearly six million vehicles are produced in Germany each year, and approximately 5.5 million are produced overseas by German brands.…

Read more

Patent Claims x

Statement of Working to Compulsory Licensing – Are We Missing Something?

This post was first published on 8th April, 2011.   As pointed out by Supriya in her post, a compulsory license may be granted if a patent is not worked in India and reasonable efforts are made to acquire a license. Does the working of a patent in India mean that the patented invention must be manufactured in India? Reading of sections 83 and 84 of the Patents Act take us to that logical conclusion. The sections clearly point out that working…

Read more

px London Olympics  logo.svg

Patents and Olympics

This post was first published on 25th July, 2012 The 2012 Summer Olympic Games is scheduled to take place in London, United Kingdom, from 27 July. Since the Olympics is around the corner, we would like to share some interesting patents issued pertinent to athlete performance. The patent (US6013007) discusses about a Global Positioning System (GPS) based personal athletic performance monitor for providing an athlete with real-time athletic performance feedback data. A feedback device, worn by the athlete is configured…

Read more

This image depicts a Gavel, a hammer which is used by a Judge to get attention. This image is relevant as the articles deals with the famous 'Trilogy' theme in the area of patent. Click on the image for more information

Non-Obviousness and the Trilogy

This post was first published on 5th December, 2014.   The Supreme Court's non-obviousness precedent commenced with Graham v. John Deere Co., and its companion cases, Calmar v. Cook Chemical and United States v. Adams, collectively referred to in patent circles as the Trilogy. This trilogy represents the Supreme Court’s first interpretation of the statutory non-obvious requirement. The principal issue in the trilogy was establishing the level of ingenuity necessary to satisfy the Section 103 non-obvious requirement that had been added to the Patent Act in 1952.…

Read more