“Interesting Patents, Eye patents, Medical patents, Backpack for visually impaired user, Samsung fined for infringing KAST’s patent, US ITC tightens the noose on iPhones, Is Patent search really necessary?, Patent Tip of the week and other Weekly Patent News,” presented by the Patent attorneys and experts of BananaIP Counsels, India’s leading Patent Firm.
Patent Fact of the Week
“The strength of the invention is the true factor of the strength of a patent” – Gaurav Mishra, IP Manager – Strategic Engagement, BananaIP Counsels.
Indian Patent Statistics
A total of 726 patent applications have been published in the 24th issue of the patent journal. Out of the 726 applications, 83 applications account for early publications while 643 applications account for ordinary publications or publications occurring after the 18 month period. A total of 164 applications have been granted this week thus marking a decrease of about 35.43% in comparison to the number of applications granted in the previous week.
Early Publications
| City | Previous Week | This Week | Percentage of change |
| Delhi | 12 | 10 | 16.67% decrease |
| Mumbai | 13 | 4 | 69.23% decrease |
| Chennai | 23 | 39 | 69.57% increase |
| Kolkata | 4 | 30 | 650% increase |
| Total | 52 | 83 | 59.62% increase |
Ordinary Publications
| City | Previous Week | This Week | Percentage of change |
| Delhi | 157 | 215 | 36.94% increase |
| Mumbai | 146 | 109 | 25.34% decrease |
| Chennai | 226 | 236 | 4.42% increase |
| Kolkata | 77 | 83 | 7.79% increase |
| Total | 606 | 643 | 6.11% increase |
TOTAL PUBLICATIONS (Previous Week): 658
TOTAL PUBLICATIONS (This Week): 726
Percentage difference: 10.33% increase
First Examination Report (FER) Statistics
A total of 1073 FER’s have been issued last week. Applicants and their agents can check if any of their patent applications have been examined by referring the journal available here.
| City | No. of FER Issued |
| Delhi | 385 |
| Mumbai | 149 |
| Chennai | 377 |
| Kolkata | 162 |
| Total | 1073 |
PUBLICATIONS UNDER GRANT
| City | Previous Week | This Week | Percentage of change |
| Delhi | 96 | 51 | 46.88% decrease |
| Mumbai | 26 | 14 | 46.15% decrease |
| Chennai | 71 | 57 | 19.72% decrease |
| Kolkata | 61 | 42 | 31.15% decrease |
| Total | 254 | 164 | 35.43% decrease |
Number of Applications published based on applicant city
Of the total 726 patent applications published in the journal last week, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kolkata have contributed a total of 80 applications. The total applications from each of the previously mentioned cities for the past week are as follows – 24 applications from Chennai, 20 from Bangalore, 12 from Mumbai, 10 from Delhi, 8 from Kolkata and 6 from Hyderabad.
| List of Cities | 1st January 2018 – 15th June 2018 | 9th June 2018 – 15th June 2018 |
| Delhi | 567 | 10 |
| Mumbai | 399 | 12 |
| Bangalore | 450 | 20 |
| Chennai | 265 | 24 |
| Hyderabad | 234 | 6 |
| Kolkata | 107 | 8 |
Total number of applications published by the Indian Patent Office from the 1st of January 2018 till date: 17642
- Early publications: 1642
- Ordinary Publications: 16000
Total number of patents granted by the Indian Patent Office from the 1st of January 2018 till date: 6529
- Delhi – 2507
- Mumbai – 748
- Chennai – 1995
- Kolkata – 1269
Indian Industrial Designs Statistics
The designs office has registered a total of 137 designs this week. The total designs registered from the 1st of January 2018 till date now adds to a total of 4557 applications.
Total designs registered in the previous Week: 134
Total designs registered this Week: 137
Percentage Difference: 2.24% increase
Total designs registered from the 1st of January 2018 till date: 4557
Interesting Patents
Patent Application 1
Title of the invention: FORECASTING EYE CONDITION PROGRESSION FOR EYE PATIENTS
Applicant: MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING, LLC
Application No.: 201641042225
Abstract: “Aspects extend to methods, systems, and computer program products for forecasting eye condition progression for eye patients. When a patient visits an eye practitioner, the patient (or when appropriate their guardian) may be interested in the current eye condition as well as a prediction of eye condition progression in the future and/or as the patient ages. Aspects of the invention can be used to predict the 10 progress of an eye condition for a patient (e.g., a child) at a number of different post-examination times after an examination. Predicting the progress of an eye condition for a patient over time can be used to assist the eye practitioner in tailoring a treatment plan and/or tailoring a subsequent examination schedule for the patient.” (The abstract text has been taken as is and has not been corrected for errors)
Patent Application 2
Title of the invention: A BACKPACK FOR VISUALLY IMPAIRED USER
Applicant: SRM UNIVERSITY
Application No.: 201741046408
Abstract: “The present disclosure relates to the field of backpacks to provide safety to blind people. Conventional arrangements fail to provide the same. The present disclosure envisages a backpack (100) comprising an electronic unit (106) placed inside the backpack (100) to aid the blind people to navigate easily. Each of shoulder straps (126, 128) of the backpack (100) comprise at least one first sensor module (102) and at least one second sensor module (104) to generate at least one sensed signals and transmit the at least one sensed signals to the electronic unit (106). The electronic unit (106) processes the electric signal and activates at least one vibrator (112). The electronic unit (106) controls remotely controlled appliances with the help of a microphone (116) and a GPS module (114) incorporated in the electronic unit (106).” (The abstract text has been taken as is and has not been corrected for errors)
Patent /Design Infringements, Disputes, Licensing and Settlements.
Samsung fined for infringing KAST’s patent
A federal jury in Texas has ordered Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. to pay 400 million dollars to the licensing arm of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAST), one of South Korea’s top research universities. The decision comes after the jury found Samsung guilty of infringing the patent owned by KAIST IP US, the university’s licensing arm. The patented technology referred to as FinFET is a type of transistor that boosts performance and reduces power consumption for increasingly smaller chips.
US ITC tightens the noose on iPhones
The staff of the US International Trade Commission (US ITC) has asked a trade judge to find out if Apple Inc has infringed at least one of Qualcomm Inc’s patents. This move could lead to blocking iPhone imports in the US which was one among the prayers that Qualcomm made in its dispute with Apple earlier last year.
BananaIP’s Patent / Design Tip of the Week
Is Patent search really necessary?
Performing a patent search (patentability search) before filing a patent application is a good idea. It saves the applicant from wasting a lot of time and money on an invention that would otherwise not be patentable or at least would be very difficult to obtain meaningful patent protection for. While inventors and applicants often tell patent attorneys that there is nothing like their product / invention on the market, patentability involves much more than what is on the market alone. A good search can turn up prior inventions that could potentially bar an applicant from obtaining a patent. Additionally, a good search will predict the objections that the patent office might raise against patentability of the invention and give the applicant extra time to consider a proper response to an office action.
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].
