“Indian patent statistics, Interesting inventions, CGPDTM & DIPP issue notice for empanelment of facilitators under SIPP (Startup Intellectual Property Protection) scheme, UGC asks Universities to provide IPR as an optional subject, Patent infringement disputes, Treadmill patents, NASA to License Patent Portfolio and other Weekly Patent News updates,” presented by the Patent attorneys and experts of BananaIP Counsels, India’s leading Patent Firm.
Design quote of the Week
“Design must be functional, and functionality must be translated into visual aesthetics without any reliance on gimmicks that have to be explained.” – Ferdinand Porsche, founder of the Porsche car company.
Indian Patent Statistics
A total of 785 patent applications have been published in the 42nd issue of the patent journal. Out of the 785 applications, 91 applications account for early publications while 694applications account for ordinary publications or publications occurring after the 18 month period. A total of 182 applications have been granted this week thereby marking a decrease of about 2.15% in total grants as compared to the preceding week.
Early Publications
| City | Previous Week | This Week | Percentage of change |
| Delhi | 4 | 12 | 200% increase |
| Mumbai | 2 | 26 | 1200% increase |
| Chennai | 35 | 39 | 11.42% increase |
| Kolkata | 1 | 14 | 1300% increase |
| Total | 42 | 91 | 116.66% increase |
Ordinary Publications
| City | Previous Week | This Week | Percentage of change |
| Delhi | 165 | 130 | 21.21% decrease |
| Mumbai | 49 | 86 | 75.51% increase |
| Chennai | 140 | 303 | 116.42% increase |
| Kolkata | 7 | 175 | 2816.67% increase |
| Total | 361 | 694 | 2400% increase |
TOTAL PUBLICATIONS (Previous Week): 403
TOTAL PUBLICATIONS (This Week): 785
Percentage difference: 94.78% increase
First Examination Report (FER) Statistics
A total of 1292 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 | 503 |
| Mumbai | 171 |
| Chennai | 430 |
| Kolkata | 188 |
| Total | 1292 |
PUBLICATIONS UNDER GRANT
| City | Previous Week | This Week | Percentage of change |
| Delhi | 49 | 54 | 10.20% increase |
| Mumbai | 26 | 20 | 23.07% decrease |
| Chennai | 73 | 74 | 1.36% decrease |
| Kolkata | 38 | 34 | 10.52% decrease |
| Total | 186 | 182 | 2.15% decrease |
Number of Applications published based on applicant city
Of the total 785 patent applications published in the journal last week, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kolkata have contributed a total of 65 applications. The total applications from each of the previously mentioned cities are as follows – 20 applications from Bangalore, 16 applications from Mumbai, 4 applications from Delhi, 14 applications from Chennai, 6 applications from Hyderabad and 5 applications from Kolkata.
| List of Cities | 1st January 2018 – 20th October 2018 | 12th October 2018 – 20th October 2018 |
| Delhi | 896 | 4 |
| Mumbai | 790 | 16 |
| Bangalore | 972 | 20 |
| Chennai | 570 | 14 |
| Hyderabad | 410 | 6 |
| Kolkata | 228 | 5 |
Total number of applications published by the Indian Patent Office from the 1st of January 2018 till date: 31245
- Early publications: 2970
- Ordinary Publications: 28393
Total number of patents granted by the Indian Patent Office from the 1st of January 2018 till date: 11078
- Delhi – 4094
- Mumbai – 1363
- Chennai – 3472
- Kolkata – 2155
Indian Industrial Designs Statistics
The designs office has registered a total of 109 designs this week. The total designs registered from the 1st of January 2018 till date now adds to a total of 6870 applications.
Total designs registered in the previous Week: 110
Total designs registered this Week: 109
Percentage Difference: 0.90% decrease
Total designs registered from the 1st of January 2018 till date: 6870
Interesting Inventions of the Week
Invention 1 – SMART SEWAGE MONITOR
Patent Application No.: 201811037665
Applicant: Dr. Manish Kumar & Dr. Satyasundara Mahapatra
Abstract: “We are trying to develop a device for real time monitoring of sewage blockage water. In India leakage of sewage water is very common phenomena. Due to unavailability of information in real time about the leakage of sewage water, blockages are created in different location of the sewage line. This creates an unhygienic environment in the society and also polluted the environment and ground water. A huge amount of methane gas is also generated on that location. The blockage of sewage water continuously generates the methane gases which are very harmful for human life. If we can monitor the flow of sewage water in the sewage pipe line and able to detect and inform the blockage by using electronic sensors, then leakage of sewage water as well as generation of methane gas can be controlled. For that we have developed a prototype which can be placed inside the sewage pipe line. It monitors the status of water flow inside the pipe line and sends the status signal to the server available at the nearest control unit on fixed interval. Hence the sewage cleaner people will immediately move to that location, where the alarm signals are generated to clean the path. It will also measure the volume of the methane gas, so that no mishap is happened on that scenario” (The abstract has been provided as is and has not been corrected for errors)
Invention 2 – WEARABLE DEVICE AND METHOD OF SLAYING INSECTS
Patent Application No.: 201811025230
Applicant: INDRAPRASTHA INSTITUTE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, DELHI
Abstract: “The present invention provides a wearable device 100 and a method of slaying insects. The device 100 includes a base frame 110 embedded in a strap 120 of the wearable device 100. The device includes an electrocution element 130 configured to be accommodated inside the base frame 110 for electrocution of at least one insect and a plurality of means 140 (140a, 140b, 140c, 140d) for attracting the at least one insect to the wearable device 100. The means 140 emit light to attract insects, and the electrocution element 130 is configured to generate an electric current to electrocute the insect.” (The abstract has been provided as is and has not been corrected for errors)
Indian Patent Updates
UGC asks Universities to provide IPR as an optional subject.
In a most certainly welcome move, the University Grants Commission has published a notice, requesting all universities and affiliated colleges to offer intellectual property rights as an elective course. This provides students with a route to choose IPR as a subject on the optional credit based system. It has also asked universities to establish various chambers like “Innovation Labs” and “Intellectual Property Centers” to facilitate, spread awareness, and promote the use of these rights. It can be concluded, that, the objective of this move is to encourage young minds to take a step towards creativity and innovation in order to brighten the future. UGC also added in their letter to the universities that, “A culture of innovation and entrepreneurship must be promoted as there is no dearth of grassroots level innovations in the country and efforts must be made to facilitate their growth.”
CGPDTM & DIPP issue notice for empanelment of facilitators under SIPP (Startup Intellectual Property Protection) scheme
The DIPP (Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion) has issued a notice calling for the empanelment of facilitators under SIPP or Startup Intellectual Property Protection scheme. Persons already empanelled as facilitators can apply for renewal of their names in the list, while persons intending to empanel themselves as a facilitator may do so by submitting a request to the Controller on or before 20th November 2018. The SIPP scheme is a scheme from the Government of India where startups can file patents, trademarks and designs by paying only the government fee and by availing the services of the emapanelled facilitator. The scheme shall remain valid until the end of 31st March 2020. Attorney’s from BananaIP are already empanelled as facilitators under this scheme and have assisted over 20 startups in their IP filing requirements.
Patent /Design Infringements, Disputes, Licensing and Settlements
NASA to License Patent Portfolio
U.S. space exploration agency NASA has announced that it will enter into a range of different patent license agreements from no-cost evaluation licenses up to exclusive license. The agency’s goal in licensing technologies is to reach the widest distribution possible for the commercialized technology. NASA has further added that an exclusive license would only be granted if it believes that the exclusivity will lead to the widest distribution.
NTT Docomo joins Avanci’s licensing platform as patent owner
Avanci, the technology sharing major has announced that NTT Docomo has joined Avanci’s licensing platform as a patent owner and will license its entire global portfolio of 2G, 3G and 4G/LTE standard essential patents through Avanci’s one-stop platform.
The Avanci licensing platform now includes 19 patent owners and continues to provide a more efficient way for manufacturers to obtain licences to the wireless technology needed for their new products. Avanci’s licences are offered to all competitors in an industry at the same fair, flat rates that will not increase over the term of the license no matter how many patent owners join the platform.
Woodway and Samsara Fitness settle over Treadmill Patent Lawsuit
WOODWAY USA, Inc., a leading designer and manufacturer of treadmill has agreed to settle an outstanding patent infringement dispute with Samsara Fitness, after a two-year battle. Woodway USA had in 2015 filed a patent infringement law suit against Samsara accusing the latter of infringing upon Woodway’s utility and design patent 9,039,580, which protects Woodway’s line of curved, non-motorized treadmills. While the terms of the agreement have not been disclosed, it has been confirmed that Samsara will adopt licenses for the patents in question thereby hopefully putting an end to the long legal dispute between the companies.
Compiling Authors:
Vibha Amarnath and Shravani Damodara
About 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];
