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Existing Trademark blocks Apple Watch sale in Switzerland

In latest news, Apple has been banned from launching its new Watch in Switzerland as in other European countries, scheduled to be on April 24,  2015, because of an Intellectual Property Rights issue. They cannot use the image of an apple or the word 'apple' to launch their product in Switzerland because of a trademark from 1985. The trademark currently belongs to William Longe, who owns watch brand, Leonard, that first filed the trademark application. He applied to the Swiss…
April 7, 2015 Trademarks 0Comment 718Views 1Like
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Intellectual Property

Congratulations to Rajiv Aggarwal, India’s New Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks

Sinapse congratulates Rajiv Aggarwal, IAS officer and Joint Secretary of DIPP - Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, for being appointed as the new Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks (CGPDTM) of the Indian IP Office. He assumed charge on March 18, 2015. Rajiv Aggarwal will be the third IAS officer who will be heading the Indian IP Office. Previously, Mr. Chaitanya Prasad and his predecessor Mr. P H Kurian held the position. These appointments gesture a change in trend from such…
March 26, 2015 Intellectual Property 0Comment 782Views 0Like
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The image depicts the Madras HC.

Case Brief: Shamnad Basheer v. Union of India & Others

Article contributed by Heema Shirvaikar, Intern at BananaIP Counsels, 3rd-year Law Student at Symbiosis, Pune. Facts and brief history of case: In 2011, a Writ Petition was filed before the Madras High Court by Mr. Shamnad Basheer, seeking a Writ of Declaration, to declare the establishment of the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) under the Trade Marks Act, 1999, and the Patents Act, 1970 as violative of the basic structure of the Constitution of India. Shamnad Basheer, founder of…
March 11, 2015 Intellectual Property, Patents, Trademarks 0Comment 1558Views 1Like
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This image depicts the Microsoft logo outside the Microsoft office. This post is about a recent patent win that Microsoft had. Click on the image to read the full post.

InterDigital Loses Patent Infringement Suits against Microsoft & ZTE

In a recent patent battle, InterDigital, the patent licensing company, lost its appeal to revive patent infringement suits against Microsoft and ZTE’s phone unit (previously NOKIA). InterDigital had been fighting with Nokia over royalties for over 7 years before Microsoft inherited the fight when it purchased Nokia’s mobile device business. After the ruling, InterDigital’s share price came down by 3.4% to US$ 49.14. InterDigital had filed a lawsuit against Microsoft and ZTE claiming they had infringed on 5 of its mobile phone technology…
March 9, 2015 Intellectual Property, IP Commercialization/Licensing 0Comment 566Views 0Like
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This image depicts Hollywood actress Hedy Lamarr. This image is relevant because it talks about her contribution to wireless communication. Click on the image to view full post.

Hedy Lamarr – Much more than what meets the eye

As a world of glamour, Hollywood has given us some of the most brilliant people that have been an inspiration. Today, we will see an inspiration of another kind. We will see a new side to someone considered one of the most beautiful and talented women in Hollywood. Someone who moonlighted as an inventor! She is Hedy Lamarr! Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler popularly known as Hedy Lamarr, was an Austrian-American actress and inventor. At the age of 19, she was married to Friedrich…
March 5, 2015 Intellectual Property, Patents 0Comment 1018Views 0Like
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This image depicts the Nokia office building. The Microsoft Nokia deal has been given partial approval. Click on the image to read the full post.

FTC Gives Conditional Approval to the Microsoft-Nokia Deal

The Fair Trade Commission (FTC), South Korea's antitrust authority, conditionally approved Microsoft’s acquisition of Nokia’s handset business earlier this month. The conditions attached to the merger state that Microsoft will put a ceiling on the royalties paid by major Korean handset manufacturers like Samsung and LG for Nokia patents.  The agreement between Microsoft and Nokia will allow Microsoft to directly manufacture handsets and tablets based on its broad patent portfolio. Microsoft had submitted its request for the acquisition of Nokia’s…
February 26, 2015 Intellectual Property, IP Commercialization/Licensing 0Comment 611Views 0Like
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This image depicts the image of Qualcomm's headquarters. This image is relevant because this post talks about Qualcomm paying a record fine of US$ 975 million to China in an Antitrust Probe. Click on the image to view full post.

Qualcomm Inc. to pay record fine of US$ 975 Mn

  US chipmaker, Qualcomm Inc., has put an end to the 14-month anti-trust investigation by the Chinese Government by agreeing to pay a record fine of US$ 975 Mn. Qualcomm has also been asked to lower its royalty rates on patents used in China, thereby providing a boost to domestic handset manufacturers like Xiaomi and Huawei.   Qualcomm Inc. is facing similar charges in the US and Europe as well. South Korea has also started investigating similar monopolistic practices by Qualcomm.…
February 24, 2015 Intellectual Property 0Comment 526Views 0Like
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This image depicts the Google logo with a magnifying glass over it. The post is about the recent debate that has been sparked as Google made the announcement that it would be using the house mark “ ALPHABET” for its holding company . Click on the image to read the full post.

Google-Twitter License Deal: Display Tweets in Search Results

Google has struck a deal with Twitter to acquire full access of the tweets and their indexing in its search results on a real time basis. Although details of the deal have not been disclosed or confirmed by either party, Google has allegedly entered into a data licensing revenue agreement, and will shell out the money to the tune of US$41 million for the tweets. Google had been indexing tweets till 2011, before the launch of Google+, its social networking site…
February 17, 2015 Intellectual Property, IP Commercialization/Licensing 0Comment 560Views 0Like
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This image depicts a small piggy Bank and some US Americal Dollars beside it. This image is relevant as Kingsoft and Xiaomi establish new IP investment fund by pooling in 35 Million US Dollars. Click on the image for more information

Kingsoft, Xiaomi Establish New IP Investment Fund

Chinese security software developer, Kingsoft, together in the partnership with the mobile phone maker, Xiaomi, Beijing Zhigu Technology Consulting Services (an entity controlled by Xiaomi’s founder Lei Jun) and a few others, has launched a USD 35 Mn fund to support Intellectual Property related investments. Kingsoft announced that the investment vehicle managed by Beijing Zhigu Technology Consulting Services will have a 10-year term, without disclosing other specific details. It is widely speculated that the fund has been formed as an…
February 9, 2015 Intellectual Property, IP Commercialization/Licensing, Patents 0Comment 556Views 0Like
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The featured image shows the symbol of copyright in purple colour on a white background.The post is about the recent allegation of copyright infringement against the short movie 'kriti'. To know more, please click here.

Copyright Blockbuster 2014

Dear Readers, The information age brought with it mounds of new perspectives and facts. But is it enough that it's all out there! We do want to be able to know a whole lot by reading very little. So, we bring you a quick look at all the major IP-related happenings of 2014. Copyright Law: 1. CJEU rules – ISP’s can be made to block Illegal Download access As an endorsement to European Union’s anti-piracy policies, the European Court of Justice ruled on…
February 7, 2015 Copyrights, Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law 0Comment 706Views 0Like
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