“Drop in number of patent applications published, Interesting Patents, Wireless mobile charging diary, Passive haptic learning based typing skill enhancement system for the visually impaired, Patent Agent Examination registrations, IBM wins $83 million in suit against Groupon, AstraZeneca sues Dr. Reddy’s in Delhi High Court, Ericsson and LG Electronics sign Global Patent License Agreement, Design Tip and other Weekly Patent News,” presented by the Patent attorneys and experts of BananaIP Counsels, India’s leading Patent Firm.
Patent Quote of the Week
“Making money from enforcing patents is no more wrong than investing in preferred stock.” – Nathan Myhrvold, Former CTO at Microsoft.
Indian Patent Statistics
In an unprecedented drop, a mere total of 420 patent applications have been published in the 30th issue of the patent journal. Out of the 420 applications, 49 applications account for early publications while 371 applications account for ordinary publications or publications occurring after the 18 month period. A total of 291 applications have been granted this week thereby marking a sharp increase of about 48.47% in grants compared to the previous week.
Early Publications
| City | Previous Week | This Week | Percentage of change |
| Delhi | 3 | 19 | 533.33% increase |
| Mumbai | 35 | 3 | 91.43% decrease |
| Chennai | 18 | 27 | 50% increase |
| Kolkata | 2 | 0 | 100% decrease |
| Total | 58 | 49 | 15.52% decrease |
Ordinary Publications
| City | Previous Week | This Week | Percentage of change |
| Delhi | 275 | 100 | 63.64% decrease |
| Mumbai | 79 | 50 | 36.71% decrease |
| Chennai | 292 | 210 | 28.08% decrease |
| Kolkata | 98 | 11 | 88.78% decrease |
| Total | 744 | 371 | 50.13% decrease |
TOTAL PUBLICATIONS (Previous Week): 802
TOTAL PUBLICATIONS (This Week): 420
Percentage difference: 47.63% decrease
First Examination Report (FER) Statistics
A total of 1710 FER’s have been issued last week. Applicants and their agents can check if any of their patent applications have been examined by referring to the journal available here.
| City | No. of FER Issued |
| Delhi | 654 |
| Mumbai | 225 |
| Chennai | 570 |
| Kolkata | 261 |
| Total | 1710 |
PUBLICATIONS UNDER GRANT
| City | Previous Week | This Week | Percentage of change |
| Delhi | 61 | 106 | 73.77% increase |
| Mumbai | 32 | 33 | 3.13% increase |
| Chennai | 59 | 99 | 67.8% increase |
| Kolkata | 44 | 53 | 20.45% increase |
| Total | 196 | 291 | 48.47% increase |
Number of Applications published based on applicant city
Of the total 420 patent applications published in the journal last week, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kolkata have contributed a total of 91 applications. The total applications from each of the previously mentioned cities are as follows – 35 applications from Bangalore, 18 applications each from Delhi and Chennai, 9 applications from Mumbai, 8 applications from Hyderabad and 3 applications from Kolkata.
| List of Cities | 1st January 2018 – 27th July 2018 | 21st July 2018 – 27th July 2018 |
| Delhi | 671 | 18 |
| Mumbai | 484 | 9 |
| Bangalore | 589 | 35 |
| Chennai | 356 | 18 |
| Hyderabad | 283 | 8 |
| Kolkata | 127 | 3 |
Total number of applications published by the Indian Patent Office from the 1st of January 2018 till date: 22345
- Early publications: 2052
- Ordinary Publications: 20293
Total number of patents granted by the Indian Patent Office from the 1st of January 2018 till date: 8141
- Delhi – 3058
- Mumbai – 962
- Chennai – 2512
- Kolkata – 1609
Indian Industrial Designs Statistics
The designs office has registered a total of 102 designs this week. The total designs registered from the 1st of January 2018 till date now adds to a total of 5251 applications.
Total designs registered in the previous Week: 107
Total designs registered this Week: 102
Percentage Difference: 4.67% decrease
Total designs registered from the 1st of January 2018 till date: 5251
Interesting Patents
Patent Application 1
Title: A WIRELESS MOBILE CHARGING DIARY
Applicant: Sahil Chhabra
Application No.: 201811008646
Abstract: Present invention provides a diary comprises of an upper flap and lower flap joined at either side of a movable portion. The movable portion of the diary provided within inside a plurality of paper sheets hinged to a metal plate which is fixed on the movable portion by rivet. The plurality of paper sheets are movably attached to the metal plate by metal rings. The upper flap and lower flap are comprised of two sheets providing an internal housing (upper and lower internal housing) for flat rigid support. The lower internal housing of lower flap provided with a power bank. The power bank is internally wired with USB cable for charging the power bank. The power bank is also wired with two cables one providing Type C output and other providing with MicroB/IOS Output. The upper flap is provided with a transmitter coil and oscillator which is connected to DC source of the power bank. A wireless charging enabled fully drained mobile device positioned on the diary can be charged within 2-3 hours (The abstract text has been taken as is and has not been corrected for errors)
Patent Application 2
Title: PASSIVE HAPTIC LEARNING BASED TYPING SKILL ENHANCEMENT SYSTEM FOR THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED
Applicant: AMITY UNIVERSITY
Application No.: 201711002251
Abstract: The present invention provides Passive Haptic Learning based typing skill enhancement system for the visually impaired. The system helps to develop a reflexive memory or “muscle memory” of a user/practitioner, to gain dexterity and accuracy on a particular task of repetitive nature such as playing a piano, riding a bicycle, driving, typing etc. This system uses this paradigm to impart easy, intuitive, and fast learning of typing, particularly on a standard “qwerty” keyboard to a visually impaired user. The system consists of a custom enhanced keyboard for touch sensitivity, a pair of haptic vibratory gloves and software that helps a user to learn to type. The continued use of the system enhances the learning process and stimulates the Passive Haptic Learning, therefore bestowing a complete non visual typing skillset to the user. (The abstract text has been taken as is and has not been corrected for errors)
Indian Patent Updates
Patent Agent Examination registrations to remain open till 16th August 2018
Registrations for the 2018 Patent Agent Examination are now open and interested applicants can register themselves on the official website of the Indian Patent Office or by clicking here. The tentative date of the examinations is October 28, 2018 and the registration close on 16th August 2018. We will keep you posted on any new developments that occur in this regard.
Patent /Design Infringements, Disputes, Licensing and Settlements.
IBM wins $83 million in suit against Groupon
International Business Machines Corp (IBM) has been awarded $83 million in a patent infringement suit involving e-commerce marketplace operator Groupon Inc. This news comes after we had reported earlier last week that IBM had sought $167 million in damages against Groupon Inc. for alleged infringement of IBM’s e-commerce technology that had already been licensed to Amazon, Facebook and Google for between $20 million and $50 million per company.
AstraZeneca sues Dr. Reddy’s in Delhi High Court
UK-based pharma major AstraZeneca has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories for alleged patent infringement of the company’s patented drug Brilinta. The honorable court has asked Dr. Reddy’s to file a reply to the lawsuit and has slated a hearing for the same on the 31st of July. Brilinta is a drug used to reduce chances of heart attacks or strokes by preventing blood clots in vessels. While one of the key patents for Brilinta expired in India this month, the company has argued that one patent is still valid and effectively bars commercial launches of copies.
Ericsson and LG Electronics sign Global Patent License Agreement
Tech majors – Ericsson and LG Electronics have renewed a global patent license agreement on FRAND terms and conditions to jointly work on various technologies. The agreement includes a global cross-license for cellular standard-essential patents between two of the most significant contributors to 3GPP standards. This covers patents relating to both of the companies’ 2G, 3G, and 4G standard-essential patents.
Design Tip of the week
An industrial design protection is exclusive of any other IP that you may have applied for to protect your product. Considering the low cost of filing a design application, applicants who think they have a product with a unique look and feel must certainly apply for a design application.
Author: BIP’s Patent Attorneys
Led by Senior Partners, Somashekar Ramakrishna, Nitin Nair and Vinita Radhakrishnan, BIP’s Patent Attorneys are among the leading patent practitioners in the country. They work with clients such as Mahindra and Mahindra, Samsung, HCL, Eureka Forbes, and Titan. They specialize in IT/Software, Electronics/Telecom, Mechanical, Automotive, and Bio/Pharma domains, and help clients with patent filing, prosecution, management and strategy in India, and across the world.
The weekly patent news initiative is a part of their pro bono work, and is aimed at spreading patent awareness. You are free to share the news with appropriate attribution and backlink to the source.
If you have any questions, you may write to BIP’s Patent Attorneys – [email protected].
