Celebrating 20 Years of IP Excellence

The image depicts a patent fight between two groups of people.

Patents, Compulsory Licensing and Business Strategy

The stated objective of patent law is to promote the progress of science and technology for industrial/economic progress and public benefit. It  seeks to achieve this objective by granting exclusive rights over inventions to inventors for a limited period of time, on expiry of which the inventions enter the public domain. It is believed that the grant of exclusive rights generate incentives to invent, invest, disclose and design around, which in turn promote the progress of science and technology by…

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biryani

Happy Eid al-Adha – Biryani Patents

Hello fellow foodies! What a day it is, Eid Mubarak to all our readers! Eid is known as the festival of sacrifice that marks  the end of Haj, and the cuisine is a very important part of the celebrations. Biryani, sevyian, sheer khurma and other delectable dishes make Eid a very special day for food connoisseurs. So, on this day we bring to you a couple of patents claiming inventive, healthy preparations, from China and USA. CN102726685A/en Muslim fast food grabbing rice and…

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matrix

Letter to the PM against Software patenting

On September 15, 2015 several civil society organizations, institutions and citizens submitted a joint letter to the PMO expressing their concerns over the “Guidelines for Examination of Computer Related Inventions (CRIs)” issued by the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks on 21st August, 2015. Some of the noted Institutions and Organizations included in this letter are IIT Bombay, C-DAC, IIM Bangalore, Alternative Law Forum, Centre for Internet & Society, Bangalore , National Working Group on Patent…

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Copyright x

You Are Free to Sing ‘Happy Birthday’ – Warner’s Copyright Claim Rejected

  'Happy Birthday' song is considered to be the most sung song in the world. The song is not only rendered on birthdays, but also captured in various forms such as sound recordings, videos, etc. A search on YouTube with the phrase, 'Happy Birthday', yields About 3,770,000 results, indicating its popularity. The 'Happy Birthday' song includes two elements, lyrics and musical composition. Simply put, it includes the words and the tune.     Warner/Chappell Music was claiming copyright ownership of the lyrics, and…

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The featured image shows the word copyright wrtitten in blue colour which is illuminated. The post is about the copyright vesting in sound recordings in pre 1972 music in California. To know more, please click here.

Can I Use your Photo in my Blog? – Copyright V. Fair Use

In a recent decision by the 11th Circuit Court in USA, Katz v. Chevaldina, the question of whether using a photograph to criticize a person's business activities amounted to copyright infringement was raised. The Court answered that it was not copyright infringement, but amounted to fair use as the use was for criticism and transformative. The Court also pointed out that the use lacked any commercial advantage to the blogger, and was strictly meant for criticism. Brief background is as…

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Copyright x

Let’s Go Crazy – Is the Copyright Ruling Fair?

  Stephanie Lenz uploaded a video of her child dancing to Prince's tune - Let's Go Crazy, to YouTube. In the video, the child is seen making moves, while the song is played in the background. The video was uploaded in 2007 on YouTube. Universal Music, the owner of the sound recording, was not too happy with the use of the music in the video, which was getting great attention. UM sent a DMCA take down notice to YouTube, and YouTube…

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intellectual property

IP Career in India – Choices and Opportunities

Intellectual Property (IP) opens doors to a plethora of career opportunities and choices. The options to work in IP are not only numerous, but also dynamic, and covering all of them in one article is close to impossible. In this post, we have covered some obvious career opportunities open for an aspiring IP professional. Inter-Disciplinary Field With very few exceptions, IP as a field is inter-disciplinary, and multi-disciplinary expertise is an essential element for success in the field. From science…

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oscar

And the lawsuit goes to….

Recently the Internet domain registrar, GoDaddy had its Oscar-worthy moment, winning against the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (‘Academy’ for brevity). The Academy had accused the Scottsdale, Arizona based company of cyber squatting. Originally filed in 2010, the lawsuit was filed by the Academy, stating that GoDaddy was allowing its customers "to “park” their pages and  share in the revenue" collected from the advertisements on the said pages. Further the Academy stated that the internet domain registrar had…

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Intellepedia - IP News Updates

Ericsson has a (i)Ball at the Court

On 2nd September, 2015, Hon’ble Mr. Justice Manmohan Singh of the Delhi High Court, issued an interim injunction, restraining the Mumbai-based company, iBall from importing any allegedly infringing devices until the next hearing in the case, I.A No. 17351/2015 in CS(OS) 2501/2015. The Swedish major Ericsson, which provides services, software and infrastructure in the information and communications technology space, had filed a suit for permanent injunction restraining infringement of patents, damages, rendition of accounts, delivery up etc. against the Indian…

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Intellepedia - IP News Updates

Pfizer falls prey to Section 3(d)

India's patent office had rejected Pfizer's application to patent 'Tofacitinib' in 2011, but was ordered to reconsider the decision by the Intellectual Property Appellate Board, after Pfizer appealed. On 3rd September, 2015, the Controller of Patents issued a decision again in respect of Pfizer’s application number, 991/MUMNP/2003 which sought to patent an invention titled “CHIRAL SALT RESOLUTION”. Pfizer’s patent application claimed “a pharmaceutical composition for treating or preventing a disorder or condition selected from organ transplant rejection, xeno transplantation or…

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