“Interesting Patents, Foldable Houses Using Telescopic Walls and Frame, Water Activated Belt to Alarm against Drowning, Automated Structure for Growing Plants in Vertical Layers, Intelligent Device for Landslide Prediction, Supreme Court to hear Monsanto appeal, Xiaomi faces allegations of infringing 3GPP Technology Patent, Fitbit and Immersion settle patent dispute, Gucci accused of patent infringement, Brazil Judge orders Monsanto to deposit royalties, WIPO Publishes Guide to Tackle Issues in Access & Benefit-Sharing Agreements 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
“If you didn’t have patents, no one would bother to spend money on research and development. But with patents, if someone has a good idea and a competitor can’t copy it, then that competitor will have to think of their own way of doing it. So then, instead of just one innovator, you have two or three people trying to do something in a new way.” – James Dyson, British Inventor, Founder of Dyson Company.
Indian Patent Statistics
A total of 722 patent applications have been published in the 27th issue of the patent journal. Out of the 722 applications, 55 applications account for early publications while 667 applications account for ordinary publications or publications occurring after the 18 month period. A total of 350 applications have been granted this week thus marking an increase of about 21.11% in comparison to the number of applications granted in the previous week.
Early Publications
| City | Previous Week | This Week | Percentage of change |
| Delhi | 4 | 10 | 150% increase |
| Mumbai | 21 | 20 | 4.76% decrease |
| Chennai | 20 | 24 | 20% increase |
| Kolkata | 7 | 1 | 85.71% decrease |
| Total | 52 | 55 | 5.77% increase |
Ordinary Publications
| City | Previous Week | This Week | Percentage of change |
| Delhi | 255 | 316 | 23.92% increase |
| Mumbai | 111 | 60 | 45.95% decrease |
| Chennai | 337 | 267 | 20.77% decrease |
| Kolkata | 119 | 24 | 79.83% decrease |
| Total | 822 | 667 | 18.86% decrease |
TOTAL PUBLICATIONS (Previous Week): 874
TOTAL PUBLICATIONS (This Week): 722
Percentage difference: 17.39% decrease
First Examination Report (FER) Statistics
A total of 2636 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 | 869 |
| Mumbai | 400 |
| Chennai | 934 |
| Kolkata | 433 |
| Total | 2636 |
PUBLICATIONS UNDER GRANT
| City | Previous Week | This Week | Percentage of change |
| Delhi | 92 | 145 | 57.61% increase |
| Mumbai | 31 | 43 | 38.71% increase |
| Chennai | 106 | 91 | 14.15% decrease |
| Kolkata | 60 | 71 | 18.33% increase |
| Total | 289 | 350 | 21.11% increase |
Number of Applications published based on applicant city
Of the total 722 patent applications published in the journal last week, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kolkata have contributed a total of 113 applications. The total applications from each of the previously mentioned cities for the past week are as follows 38 applications from Bangalore, 23 applications from Mumbai, 21 applications from Delhi, 15 applications from Chennai, 10 applications from Hyderabad and 6 applications from Kolkata.
| List of Cities | 1st January 2018 – 6th July 2018 | 30th June 2018 – 6th July 2018 |
| Delhi | 639 | 21 |
| Mumbai | 462 | 23 |
| Bangalore | 539 | 38 |
| Chennai | 323 | 15 |
| Hyderabad | 269 | 10 |
| Kolkata | 119 | 6 |
Total number of applications published by the Indian Patent Office from the 1st of January 2018 till date: 20297
- Early publications: 1876
- Ordinary Publications: 18421
Total number of patents granted by the Indian Patent Office from the 1st of January 2018 till date: 7419
- Delhi – 2814
- Mumbai – 865
- Chennai – 2283
- Kolkata – 1457
Indian Industrial Designs Statistics
The designs office has registered a total of 140 designs this week. The total designs registered from the 1st of January 2018 till date now adds to a total of 4922 applications.
Total designs registered in the previous Week: 107
Total designs registered this Week: 140
Percentage Difference: 30.84% increase
Total designs registered from the 1st of January 2018 till date: 4922
Interesting Patents
This week’s patent journal is replete with way too many interesting patent application. We had to list down a few and we hope you enjoy them all.
Patent Application 1
Title: FOLDABLE HOUSES USING TELESCOPIC WALLS AND FRAME
Applicant: INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY MADRAS
Application No.: 201641045067
Abstract: “A portable foldable prefabricated house using telescopic walls and frames for use in re-rehabilitation and emergency shelter construction applications. The house includes a frame unit consisting of telescopic vertical columns and horizontal beams for carrying the complete load of the portable foldable house and safely distributing it to the ground. A plurality of telescopic wall panels covering the frame unit and providing safe and comfortable enclosure for protecting the people from outside conditions. The portable house structure can be used as temporary shelters, emergency shelters, low cost housing, mobile houses, mobile clinics, education centers, etc.” (The abstract text has been taken as is and has not been corrected for errors)
Patent Application 2
Title: WATER ACTIVATED BELT TO ALARM AGAINST DROWNING
Applicant: Adwitiya Sinha and Shardha Porwal
Application No.: 201711000060
Abstract: “The present invention involves alarming against accidental drowning using a wireless belt to be worn by person intending to perform underwater activities. Such actions widely include amateur swimmers, aquatic researchers, children, pets, etc. The belt is equipped with multi-sensor features to prevent drowning cases by detecting abnormal behavior underwater. This invention avoids false alarming situations that might get triggered due to incidental wetting, caused by spraying, splashing, sprinkling or any atmospheric phenomena including precipitation, rainfall, etc.” (The abstract text has been taken as is and has not been corrected for errors)
Patent Application 3
Title: AUTOMATED STRUCTURE FOR GROWING PLANTS IN VERTICAL LAYERS
Applicant: Vertical Farming Technologies Private Limited
Application No.: 201741028076
Abstract: “The present invention is a modular automated structure for growing plants based on principles of aeroponic technology and allows for cultivating high density of plants in a relatively smaller area. It includes a hollow growth tower mounted in center of a storage tank holding nutrient solution, nutrient solution pump for replenishing the nutrient solution in the storage tank, system for distributing nutrient solution, plurality of net pots on the wall of growth tower for bearing plant saplings, plurality of sensors, programmable motors and clock, axially rotating base structure fitted with wheels for mobility, IoT device for controlling the functions of the structure being communicatively linked to the user. Thus, the present invention is capable of increasing yields while reducing costs and making a small and modular unit available that can be easily used in minimal space and by households for domestic use and cost effective for large scale implementation.” (The abstract text has been taken as is and has not been corrected for errors)
Patent Application 4
Title: INTELLIGENT DEVICE FOR LANDSLIDE PREDICTION
Applicant: Charmish Hemantkumar Mojidra et al.
Application No.: 201821022948
Abstract: “In India, a large number of lives are lost and property is destroyed annually due to landslides. About 12.6% of Indian land area is prone to landslides. Landslides mainly occur as a reaction to rain or earthquake. Usually, most landslides have certain geological and physical parameters associated with them. The suggested system targets a certain area to use these parameters to efficiently detect whether a landslide would be occurring within the said area. This system proposes an approach for an automated and intelligent system for early detection and warning for landslide using wireless Zigbee network. It uses the embedded board Arduino Uno based on ATmega328P- 8-bit AVR family microcontroller as an embedded core along with Zigbee for system integration. A collection of sensors are used which measure moisture, rain and acceleration of the soil with respect to the earth. These physical parameters can be subjected to change in accordance with a change in location. A machine learning approach in the form of Artificial Neural Network is implemented to efficiently process the values recorded by the sensors. The neural network checks if the values of sensor cross the threshold values and predicts the severity of the landslide. In case of a possibility of a landslide, the system generates alert in the form of SMS to the administrator. The test results show that the system is completely functional. And this system ensures versatility and good scalability, the traditional monitoring limitations of a function can be overcome which is less efficient and costs are high.” (The abstract text has been taken as is and has not been corrected for errors)
India Patent Update
Supreme Court to hear Monsanto appeal
The Supreme Court last week sought a response from Monsanto Technology and others on an appeal by Nuziveedu Seeds seeking refund of all the trait value of Rs 63.96 crore paid by it to the US biotechnology firm for supply of BT Cotton seed varieties ‘Bollguard’ and ‘Bollguard’ II after termination of its sub-license agreement. This petition has been tagged with Monsanto’s appeal challenging the Delhi High Court’s ruling in May this year in the case involving the Monsanto’s Bollgard-II BT Cotton seed technology. A hearing in this case has been scheduled for the 18th of July 2018.
Patent /Design Infringements, Disputes, Licensing and Settlements.
Xiaomi faces allegations of infringing 3GPP Technology Patent
A Chinese company by the name Yuan Gongyi has filed a lawsuit against Xiaomi alleging that the smartphone maker infringed on a 3GPP technology patent owned by Gongyi by selling several Xiaomi devices including the Mi Max 2, Mi Note 3, and Mi 5X. Gongyi has demanded over $7.5 million in damages and an injunction from the Court in respect of the sale of the Mi Max 2, Mi 5X, and the Mi Note 3 devices.
Fitbit and Immersion settle patent dispute
Touch feedback technology developer Immersion Corporation and wearable manufacturer Fitbit have reached a settlement after Immersion sued the wearables maker last year for patent infringement. The settlement includes a multi-year license agreement, the terms of which have not yet been disclosed.
Gucci accused of patent infringement
Fashion giant Gucci has recently been accused of patent infringement by a Chicago based company called ‘Cardshark’. The company has alleged that Gucci “has directly and indirectly infringed” its utility patent number 8,381,904 which “generally relates to a wireless handheld device protective wallet covering with certain features, including a window housing on the front side of the product, a rear protective face, with an externally accessible pocket that allows the insertion and removal of cards or paper currency.” As reported here, it seems unlikely that the case will go to trial given that most, if not all of, the cases that Cardshark has filed to date, including cases against Kate Spade, and Michael Kors, among others brands based on similar claims, have settled before trial.
International Patent Updates
Brazil Judge orders Monsanto to deposit royalties
Things don’t look too fruity for Monsanto as the agro company appears to be facing some beating across the globe. In a recent instance, a Brazilian judge has ordered the local units of Monsanto Co to deposit royalties related to a GMO soy seed technology in an escrow account. The ruling relates to a patent dispute between Brazilian soy growers in the state of Mato Grosso and Monsanto, which was recently acquired by Germany’s Bayer AG in a 63 billion-euro deal.
WIPO Publishes Guide to Tackle Issues in Access & Benefit-Sharing Agreements
The World Intellectual Property Organization has published a guide to access and benefit-sharing agreements for use of genetic resources. The booklet titled “A Guide to Intellectual Property Issues in Access and Benefit-sharing Agreements” has been jointly developed by WIPO and the ABS Capacity Development Initiative.
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].
