Amazon’s drone towers, HCL Technologies – parking patents, Interesting Patents, Startup innovations, PortBOTS, Patent seminars, conferences, conclaves, Apple versus Qualcomm, Pharma patents, PPVFR, Patent Tip and more, presented by the Patent attorneys and experts of BananaIP Counsels, India’s Premier New Age IP Firm.
Patent Quote of the week
“The good patent gives the world something it did not truly have before, whereas the bad patent has the effect of trying to take away from the world something which it effectively already had.”
Giles Sutherland Rich, 1978 60 JPOS 271,288, cited in CIPA Guide to the Patents Act, page 83 and Gaster/Marlow, CRi 1/2009 pages 3-4
Patent Stats from the Indian Patent Office
The patent stats this week reflect a slightly decreased percentage of publications. While early publications have dipped by over 44%, ordinary publications have increased by a mere 2%. This increase in ordinary publications is not significant enough to compensate the dip in early publications and therefore the overall publication percentage dips by 2%.
Early Publications
| City | Previous Week | This Week | Percentage of change |
| Delhi | 18 | 11 | 38.89% decrease |
| Mumbai | 27 | 11 | 59.26% decrease |
| Chennai | 11 | 23 | 109.09% increase |
| Kolkata | 24 | 1 | 95.83% decrease |
| Total | 83 | 46 | 44.58% decrease |
Ordinary Publications
| City | Previous Week | This Week | Percentage of change |
| Delhi | 260 | 274 | 5.38% increase |
| Mumbai | 182 | 156 | 14.29% decrease |
| Chennai | 257 | 275 | 7% increase |
| Kolkata | 10 | 23 | 130% increase |
| Total | 709 | 728 | 2.68% increase |
TOTAL PUBLICATIONS (Previous Week): 792
TOTAL PUBLICATIONS (This Week): 774
Percentage difference: 2.27% decrease
PUBLICATIONS UNDER GRANT
| City | Previous Week | This Week | Percentage of change |
| Delhi | 77 | 79 | 2.6% increase |
| Mumbai | 15 | 19 | 26.67% increase |
| Chennai | 35 | 70 | 100% increase |
| Kolkata | 23 | 47 | 104.35% increase |
| Total | 150 | 215 | 43.33% increase |
Number of Applications published based on applicant city
Out of a total of 12,014 patent publications made since the 1st of January this year, the major cities of Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata have contributed to a total of 2,290 patent applications. This translates to a 19% contribution by the major cities. This week, Mumbai has contributed 31 applications which takes the total of the applications made by the mega city to 806. Bangalore has contributed 23 applications this week and remains far behind Mumbai with a total of 492 applications till date. Delhi is in close ranks with Bangalore having contributed 12 applications this week and taking the total up to 449 applications till date. Chennai and Hyderabad are far below in the table having contributed a total of 262 and 189 applications respectively.
| List of Cities | 1st January 2017 – till date | 17th June 2017- 23rd June 2017 |
| Mumbai | 806 | 31 |
| Bangalore | 492 | 23 |
| Delhi | 449 | 12 |
| Chennai | 262 | 16 |
| Hyderabad | 189 | 7 |
| Kolkata | 92 | 1 |
Total number applications published by the Indian Patent Office since the 1st of January 2017 to date: 12014
- Early publications: 1283
- Ordinary Publications:10731
Total number of patents granted by the Indian Patent Office since the 1st of January 2017 to date: 5629
- Delhi – 2557
- Mumbai – 527
- Kolkata – 1066
- Chennai – 1479
Industrial Designs
Total designs registered this Week: 154
Total designs registered in the previous Week: 151
Percentage Difference: 2% increase
Interesting Patents
HCL Technologies applies for a patent on assisting drivers in automobile parking
HCL Technologies Limited, the Indian IT multinational has recently filed a patent application with the Indian Patent Office titled – SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ASSISTING AUTOMOBILE PARKING. The application numbered 201711020147 discloses a method for assisting a driver of an automobile in parking the automobile, allocating a parking slot located within the parking area and generating a parking token corresponding to the parking slot.
Abstract: The present disclosure relates to system(s) and method(s) for assisting a driver of an automobile for parking the automobile. In one embodiment, the system may detect one or parameters associated with an automobile, and one or more preferences associated with the driver of the automobile and may allocate a parking. Further, the system may generate a parking token corresponding to the parking slot and provide a first set of navigation instruction for guiding the driver to reach the parking slot based on monitoring of the parking token. Furthermore, the system may detect a current orientation of the automobile and provide a second set of parking instruction for guiding the driver to park the automobile based on a comparison of the current orientation and a predefined orientation, thereby assisting a driver of an automobile for parking the automobile.
Amazon files a patent for drone towers
Amazon, the e-commerce giant has applied for a patent with the USPTO that appears to be in absolute sync with its drone delivery program called Amazon Prime Air. The US patent application 14/975,618 is titled “MULTI-LEVEL FULFILLMENT CENTER FOR UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES” and discloses an infrastructure in which drones would take off, land and pick up deliveries from a tower placed in densely populated cities that would house the drones. The towers as represented in the drawings almost look like bee hives which is certainly an interesting concept.
Abstract: A multi-level (ML) fulfillment center is designed to accommodate landing and takeoff of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), possibly in an urban setting, such as in a densely populated area. Unlike traditional fulfillment centers, the ML fulfillment centers may include many levels (i.e., stories, floors, etc.) as permitted under zoning regulations for respective areas. The fulfillment center may have one or more landing locations and one or more deployment locations to accommodate UAVs, which may delivery at least some of the items from the fulfillment center to locations associated with customers.
Patents, Startups, Innovations
Lucknow youth develops intelligent robots – PortBOTS
Milind Raj, a Lucknow based youth and his startup are making the headlines after the young inventor demonstrated a unique piece of his innovation called PortBOTS at a port in Sri Lanka. Milind Raj who has filed for a patent on his PortBOTS describes PortBOTS as intelligent robots that monitor port activities. These robots can swim and plunge below water to monitor a ship’s base and other machines. They can monitor temperature and detect the slightest cracks or any damage under the ships standing at port. The fact that these robots are weather-proof and amphibious i.e., capable of running on land too, coupled with the fact that the technology promises to tremendously cut down the cost of machine maintenance, and avoid major accidents and damages, has made the robots extremely sought after.
Seminars, Conferences, Conclaves
International Conference on Standardization, Patents and Competition
The Jindal Initiative on Research in IP & Competition (JIRICO) of O.P. Jindal Global University, New Delhi recently organized an International Conference on Standardization, Patents and Competition. The event witnessed the participation of several industry experts, academicians, researchers, judges, policymakers, scholars and regulators from across the globe who deliberated on developments pertaining to issues of innovation and IPR policies, the role of standard setting organizations and competition agencies, FRAND licensing, emerging jurisprudence pertaining to SEPs and antitrust in the Asia-Pacific Region and Europe among others.
Patent disputes
Apple claims “continuing and mounting” evidence against Qualcomm
Apple Inc. has announced that it would be adding more allegations to a complaint filed by it in January 2017 with the federal court in San Diego against the chip making giant – Qualcomm Inc. In this fresh onslaught of an already ugly fight, Apple has alleged that it has found “continuing — and mounting — evidence of Qualcomm’s perpetuation of an illegal business model that burdens innovation,”
Apple has further alleged that some of the patents that Qualcomm seeks royalties for are invalid and that Qualcomm hasn’t fulfilled its obligation to charge fair and reasonable rates on patents related to industry standards.
While, the war between the tech giants does not seem to be waning any time soon, Qualcomm is certainly facing a serious challenge, the likes of which it has probably never seen before.
Case: Apple Inc. v. Qualcomm Inc., 17-108, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California (San Diego)
Pharma patents
GSK wins $235 million from Teva Pharmaceuticals
A U.S. jury in Wilmington, Delaware has ordered Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd to pay GlaxoSmithKline Plc more than $235 million in damages and royalties after it found that Teva willfully infringed one of GSK’s patent covering its blood pressure drug – Coreg. While Teva contended that GSK’s patent was invalid and it sold the generic version of the drug with a label indicating it could be used for treating chronic heart failure, the Jury rejected all of Teva’s contentions.
Disappointed with the outcome of the trial, Teva has announced that it is likely to consider an appeal.
Plant Varieties News
PPVFR A to dispense with requirement of NOC’s
The Protection of Plant Varieties and Famers’ Rights Authority (PPVFRA) has passed a resolution to dispense with the requirement of obtaining a no-objection certificate (NOC) from patent-holders for use of their genetically-modified (GM) traits.
R C Agrawal, registrar-general of the Authority has said that the requirement of NoC from the patent-holder for registration of a variety or hybrid containing a patented trait had no basis in the PPVFR Act and that the PPVFR Act only required a declaration from the applicant seeking registration of a plant variety or hybrid that they had “lawfully acquired” the genetic material or parental material for breeding, evolving or developing it.
Speculations are rife that this resolution might trigger fresh litigations like the most recent one between Monsanto and Hyderabad-based Nuziveedu Seeds.
BananaIP’s Patent Tip of the Week
Is it mandatory to submit a Form 3 under the Patents Act?
The provision for Statement and Undertaking regarding foreign applications is envisaged under Section 8 of the Patents Act, 1970. Most applicants, who file patent applications in foreign countries corresponding to their patent application filed in India, often take the submission of Form 3 for granted. This is a mistake that could have serious repercussion on your patent application filed with the IPO. The disclosure under Section 8 is compulsory and voluntary and it is therefore a good practice to keep the Indian Patent Office informed of the progress of the patent applications relating to the same or substantially similar invention, filed by an applicant outside India.
Section 8(1) (a) requires the applicant to provide the information within 6 months from the date of filing the patent application in India and Section 8(1) (b) requires the applicant to keep the Controller updated with regard to the filing of the applications outside India within 6 months from the date of filing.
