Celebrating 20 Years of IP Excellence

This image depicts Philo Fransworth with a Television of the medieval era. This image is relevant as the post is about patent of the Idiot Box. Click on this image for more information

Father of the Electronic Idiot Box

This post was first published on 2nd September, 2014.   Mr. Fransworth is regarded as the Father of Television. I would rename him as Father of Electronic Television, as most of us, including me, have learned in our school days that Mr. John Logie Baird is the Father of Television. The truth is Mr. Baird’s television was based on electro-mechanical systems, whereas Mr. Fransworth’s television was electronic. Mr. Fransworth showed glimpses of his brilliance since childhood by describing and diagramming a television in 1921, when…

Read more

This image depicts a Court Hammer being kept above a Computer Keyboard.This image is relevant as the post is about Alice vs. CLS Saga. Click on the image for more information

Alice vs. CLS saga

This post was first published on 19th September, 2014.   A thought is emerging in the US that the Alice vs. CLS decision was a game-changer and that software patent protection in the country has been seriously eroded. Let us see what happened between them and how it affects us. Who is Alice? Alice Corporation claims to be an innovator in financial markets. The Company has obtained patents on its innovations worldwide, including in the United States. It was founded by privately-held…

Read more

This image depicts a prototype of word STOP being chained from both the sides. This image is relevant as this post is about Prosecution History E’stop’pel. Click on this image for more information

Prosecution History E’stop’pel!

This post was first published on 3rd September, 2014.   All of us have experienced times when things don’t work the way we want them to when we really need them to. Exactly the same way, extended protection given to the patentee under the Doctrine of Equivalents (DOE) doesn’t always help you when you need it the most. Many a time, the application has to be amended in order to accommodate the Patent Law requirements, which is called the Prosecution History or File-Wrapper.…

Read more

green vehicles

Tesla’s Open Source Patent Saga

  This post was first published on 1st July, 2014.   After the recent, almost philanthropic action of Tesla's, there seem to be several nagging unanswered questions looming in our heads. Here are a few that we have addressed for you, Dear Reader.   Who is Tesla? Tesla Motors is the name of a Californian Automobile Company founded in 2003 by a group of Silicon Valley Engineers who set out to prove that electric vehicles could be awesome. Their sports car Tesla Roadster hit…

Read more

Hamlins Wizard Oil poster post

Panacea of the People for More than Two Centuries

  This post was first published on 20th June, 2014.   Have you ever heard about 'Patent Medicines?' While not confusing the term with patented drugs, we should note that this term was associated with drug compounds in the 18th and the 19th century. They were not patented but Trademarked Medicines and were termed Nostrum Remedium in Latin . These medicines were sold with interesting names and tall claims of curing a long list of illnesses! Originally, patent medicines were named after the 'Letters Patent' granted by the English Crown.…

Read more

This image depicts a signboard having CHANGE written on it. This image is relevant as India's patent Law has changed a lot after it became signatory to TRIPS. Click on this image for more information

Exclusive Marketing Rights and Stronger Patent Regime

This post was first published on 2nd September, 2014.   Trade Related aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement under the World Trade Organization (WTO) came into effect in 1995 mandating all the developing member countries to bring in TRIPS-compliant national laws within ten years i.e., 2005. India became a party to the TRIPS Agreement in April, 1994. At that time, India's then-current enactment of the Patent Act, 1970 directly contravened Article 27 of the TRIPS Agreement. Upon coming into effect on…

Read more

The image depicts the logo of Mucosolvan. This post describes a recent win for its trademark in a legal tussle. Click on the image to read the full post.

MUCOSOLVIN confusingly similar to MUCOSOLVAN

This post was first published on 5th January, 2014.   The Hon’ble Delhi High Court delivered another thought-provoking judgment on the 16th of December, 2013 related to the pharmaceutical industry. The plaintiff in the present case is Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma Gmbh & Co., a German company with its principal place of business in Germany, whereas the Defendant is IPCA Laboratories Ltd., with its principal place of business in Mumbai. The Plaintiff has been using the trademark MUCOSOLVAN since 1979 in 56 countries including India for pharmaceutical…

Read more

image for Indian IP Laws to Protect Traditional Culture and Folklore

Indian IP Laws to Protect Traditional Culture and Folklore

This post was first published on 8th November, 2014. Most places in the world, where traditional knowledge and folklore exist, face the challenge of multiculturalism and cultural diversity because they have both indigenous and immigrant communities. A balance has to be struck between the protection and preservation of cultural experience and traditional. Efficient cultural policies are required to meet the above challenges and free exchange of cultural experiences is required to make policies for effective protection of the same. A further…

Read more

px Patent Cooperation Treaty

Cross-Border Patent Protection

  This post was first published on July 16th, 2014.   Patent protection is territorial in nature. A patent application filed in a country can entail the enjoyment of patent rights in that country only and thus a patent application has to be filed in countries where the applicant intends to gain protection. Thus in order to seek patent protection in multiple countries, the applicant will have to file the application in each of these countries. There is no limitation on 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