“IIT-B develops colorful solar cells, Talking gloves for the disabled, Improving health by creative energy healing, Bags for saving person from accidental or unintentional falls from buildings, Fan without blades, Unique seminar on patents for corporates, Roche withdraws SLP against Delhi High Court’s decision, Gamevice sues Nintendo, US ITC to investigate Qualcomm’s allegations against Apple, PPVFRA decides to free plant breeders from NOC requirements, Submission of priority documents with the Indian Patent Office in case of National phase entries, Patent Tip of the Week and more weekly news updates,” presented by the Patent attorneys and experts of BananaIP Counsels, India’s Premier New Age Patent Firm.
Patent Fact of the Week
To this date, it has not been fully confirmed as to who invented the fire hydrant. The patent application for the same perished in 1836 along with some 10,000 other patent applications in a disastrous fire at the US patent office. Frederick Graff Sr., Chief Engineer of the Philadelphia Water Works has however been credited with the first patent of a fire hydrant system, although no proof remains to authenticate the same.
Indian Patent Statistics
There has been a decrease in the total number of patent applications that have been published and granted this week. With a total of 442 patent applications being published this week, the percentage of publications has dropped by as much as 34.42%. While 52 of these patent applications are early publications, the remaining 390 applications are ordinary publications or publications occurring after the 18 month period.
Early Publications
| City | Previous Week | This Week | Percentage of change |
| Delhi | 23 | 0 | 100% decrease |
| Mumbai | 14 | 31 | 121.43% increase |
| Chennai | 39 | 21 | 46.15% decrease |
| Kolkata | 2 | 0 | 100% decrease |
| Total | 78 | 52 | 33.33% decrease |
Ordinary Publications
| City | Previous Week | This Week | Percentage of change |
| Delhi | 279 | 85 | 69.53% decrease |
| Mumbai | 151 | 75 | 50.33% decrease |
| Chennai | 154 | 226 | 46.75% increase |
| Kolkata | 11 | 4 | 63.64% decrease |
| Total | 595 | 390 | 34.45% decrease |
TOTAL PUBLICATIONS (Previous Week): 673
TOTAL PUBLICATIONS (This Week): 442
Percentage difference: 34.32% decrease
PUBLICATIONS UNDER GRANT
| City | Previous Week | This Week | Percentage of change |
| Delhi | 129 | 47 | 63.57% increase |
| Mumbai | 37 | 16 | 56.76% decrease |
| Chennai | 114 | 56 | 50.88% decrease |
| Kolkata | 72 | 37 | 48.61% decrease |
| Total | 352 | 156 | 55.68% decrease |
Number of Applications published based on applicant city
Of the total 442 patent applications published this week, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi and Hyderabad have contributed 72 applications in total. While Chennai and Bangalore have contributed the maximum number of applications this week, Kolkata’s has not been able to contribute any applications thus far. The total applications for each of the previously mentioned cities are as follows – 26 applications from Bangalore, 19 applications from Chennai, 17 applications from Mumbai, 5 applications from Delhi and 5 applications from Hyderabad
| List of Cities | 1st January 2017 – till date | 5th August 2017 – 11th August 2017 |
| Mumbai | 891 | 17 |
| Bangalore | 733 | 26 |
| Delhi | 551 | 5 |
| Chennai | 414 | 19 |
| Hyderabad | 251 | 5 |
| Kolkata | 95 | 0 |
Total number of applications published by the Indian Patent Office from the 1st of January 2017 till 11th August 2017:16457
- Early publications: 1654
- Ordinary Publications: 14803
Total number of patents granted by the Indian Patent Office from the 1st of January 2017 till 11th August 2017: 7504
- Delhi – 3217
- Mumbai – 801
- Kolkata – 1378
- Chennai – 2108
Indian Industrial Designs Statistics
The designs office at Kolkata has registered a total of 169 designs this week. This marks a 6.67% decrease from the total designs registered in the previous week. The total designs registered from the 1st of January 2017 till date now adds to 5,635 applications.
Total designs registered in the previous Week: 180
Total designs registered this Week: 169
Percentage Difference: 6.67% decrease
Total designs registered from the 1st of January 2017 till date: 5,635
Patents, Startups, Innovations
IIT-B develops colorful solar cells
Inventors, Aldrin Anthony and Anishkumar Soman from the Energy Science Department of IIT Bombay have developed a technology that promises to add beauty to purpose. The invention promises to redefine conventional solar technology by introducing coloured solar cells which can be integrated into buildings in window glass, facades, roof shingles and others, making them an attractive choice for urban landscaping.
The invention consists of a nanophotonic coating named Selectively Modulated Aesthetic Reflector Technology or SMART. Apart from giving designers an option to integrate the technology into vertical areas of buildings and add an aesthetic appeal as opposed to conventional solar technologies, the current technology has a high durability of atleast 25 years.
The inventors have filed an Indian patent application in 2015 and a PCT application in 2017 for this technology and are currently being approached by glass manufacturing companies who wish to license their technology.
Interesting Patents and Designs
There are quite a few interesting patent applications that have been published this week in the official journal of patents and designs by the Indian Patent Office. From gloves that talk and bags that save lives to ways of improving health by creative energy healing, the inventions are truly unique. The details of these applications are as provided below:
Patent Application 1:
Title: HANDTALK
Application No. 201611004510
Applicants: DRONACHARYA GROUP OF INSTITUTIONS
Abstract: “Technology has always been of great help to the disabled persons and given them a cause to live a normal and healthy life like others. We have come up with a novel idea of using a glove that will convert hand movements into voice and allow the deaf and mute to express themselves for communicating with others. This, Handtalk glove needs to be worn on the hand by the deaf or mute person. Depending on the different movements of the glove, the system will convert the motions to intelligent prerecorded voice. The Handtalk glove senses the movements through the accelerometer which detects the different patterns of motion. The device can sense each movement made by the. hand. The gestures can be converted to voice by using a voice processor. The heart of the system will be the PIC Microcontroller which is responsible for converting the hand movement signals to the corresponding codes which is further converted into voice by the voice processor” (Abstract has been taken from the patent application as is and has not been corrected.)
Patent Application 2:
Title: A NOVEL SYSTEM FOR IMPROVING HEALTH BY CONCEPTUAL CREATIVE ENERGY HEALING
Application No. 201721025571
Applicants: MR. SWAMI HARDAS
Abstract: “The invention is for controlling various health troubles and problems and improving the health of human beings by simple and the most economical approach of energy healing system utilizing conceptual creative energy. The subtle forms of universal energy and human energy are being properly applied in order to get the evidential effects of correcting energy field in and around human body and thereby attaining healthy state. Several clinical and on-field trials reveal that the utility of the system has several merits. Numerous persons are healed at a time.” (Abstract has been taken from the patent application as is and has not been corrected.)
Patent Application 3:
Title: THE SAVIOUR BAG
Application No. 201721009725
Applicants: Dr. Suresh Kisanrao Ukarande et al.
Abstract: “The present invention relates to method and system of preventing accidents occurring due to accidental or unintentional falls from building using a saviour bag. The present invention relies on various steps to detect and prevent accidents by taking appropriate actions. The steps include a) placing sensors on each floor of a building depending on height and width of each floor b) activating and deactivating the sensors on the basis of the position of the person c) activating the buzzer based on the activation and deactivation of the sensors d) detecting that a person has jumped e) deploying a saviour bag for saving the life. Whenever a person stands with the support of the sidewall, few sensors get activated. Whenever a person climbs on the wall, the contact with some sensors will deactivate and with others get activated. At this time, the buzzer is activated to alert the respective authorities. As soon as the person jumps, the sensor on the topmost floor will detect that the person has jumped and will initiate the deployment process. The saviour bag will be deployed to save that person and life will be saved” (Abstract has been taken from the patent application as is and has not been corrected.)
Interesting Design Patents (Industrial Designs)
BLADELESS FAN
A very interesting design has been published in the official designs journal of the patent office dated August 11, 2017. The design, filed by Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. is titled BLADELESS FAN (Design number – 285366) and has been registered under class 23-04 relating to VENTILATION AND AIR-CONDITIONING EQUIPMENT. While it is not quite clear on how this bladeless fan might work, the design is certainly unique. An image of the article can be seen below.
Patent Seminars, Conferences, Conclaves
Unique seminar on patents to be held on September 22, 2017 at Bangalore
BananaIP (BIP) Counsels is organizing a unique seminar on patents for corporate inventors on 22nd September, 2017, at Bangalore, India. Unlike the traditional patent seminars, the program intends to do away with lectures and talks and instead focus on participative teaching and learning methods such as story weaving, role plays, narratives and simple problem solving techniques. You may learn more about the event on: https://www.bananaip.com/the-strategic-inventor/
Patent disputes, infringement and settlements
Roche withdraws SLP against Delhi High Court’s approval to Biosimilars
Roche, the Swiss pharma major has withdrawn its Special Leave Petition filed in the Supreme Court against the Delhi High Court’s earlier decision of rejecting Roche’s challenge to the grant of approval to drug companies, Biocon and Mylan, to use Roche’s product data for development and production of a generic biosimilar of Trastuzumab, a drug used in the treatment of cancer.
A biosimilar is a biologic medical product which is almost an identical copy of an original product that is manufactured by a different company. The withdrawal of the SLP comes after Roche suffered a few legal setbacks since the March 3rd decision of the Delhi High Court.
Roche had challenged the approval mechanism adopted by the Drugs Controller General of India, in giving Biocon and Mylan approval for its biosimilar drug and its inserts containing product data before the Delhi High Court. However, the Court in its decision of March 3rd held that Biocon and Mylan could market cancer drugs for all three indications – early breast cancer, metastatic cancer and gastric cancer and that Roche could not hang on to Trastuzumab for the rest of its life even after having enjoyed the fruits of its patent.
Gamevice sues Nintendo over patent infringement
Gamevice, a California-based gaming console company has filed a patent infringement lawsuit at the US District Court for the Central District of California against the famous video games maker Nintendo and its subsidiary Nintendo of America.
Gamevice has accused Nintendo of infringing its US patent number 9,126,119, titled “Combination computing device and game controller with flexible bridge section”. Gamevice, in its suit has alleged that Nintendo has infringed the ‘119 patent of Gamevice through the sale of Nintendo’s new home gaming console called the Nintendo Switch.
Gamevice while claiming that it currently holds more than 41 patents in ten countries related to a range of gaming devices, controls and accessories has sought injunctive relief, damages, attorneys’ fees and costs, and a jury trial against Nintendo.
Federal Government to Investigate Qualcomm’s allegations against Apple
U.S. trade officials have agreed to investigate Qualcomm’s allegations that Apple infringed on its patents with its iPhone7 and other devices. The ITC has said that it will make its decision “at the earliest practicable time” and will set a target date for completing its investigation within the next 45 days.
The statement by the US ITC comes after Qualcomm filed a complaint in early July, asking U.S. trade regulators to ban certain models of the iPhone in the US as they allegedly infringed several of Qualcomm’s patents.
BananaIP Patent Updates
BananaIP announces a Unique Seminar on Patents for Corporate Inventors
BananaIP (BIP) Counsels is organising a unique seminar on patents for corporate inventors on September 22, 2017 at ITC Gardenia in Bangalore. The seminar titled “The Strategic Inventor,” is a first of its kind program to help companies generate business and competitive value driven Patents from their inventors. The program is aimed at helping corporate inventors create patentable and risk free inventions that address a company’s business goals, and further its competitive value in the marketplace.
You may learn more about the event on BananaIP’s website: https://www.bananaip.com/the-strategic-inventor/
For more information on the seminar, you may write to Ms. Ragini, [email protected]
Plant Varieties news
PPVFRA’s decision on No “NOC” brings joy to plant breeders
Protection of plant varieties and farmers’ rights authority (PPV&FR Authority) has finally issued a directive that plant breeders will not be required to seek ‘No-Objection-Certificate’ (NoC) from the patentee/licensee to work on its patented genetically modified traits henceforth.
This removal of the requirement comes after the PPVFRA’s initial announcement to do away with the NOC requirement was met with stiff opposition from major seed companies such as Monsanto and Mahyco who alleged that the decision of the PPVFR authority to dispense with NOC’s will create a major hurdle to fresh investment in agricultural research.
BananaIP’s Patent Tip of the Week
Submission of priority documents with the Indian Patent Office in case of National phase entries
While filing a PCT national phase application in India, the applicant is entitled to claim priority if the applicant has complied with Rule 17.1 of the PCT regulations in the international phase of the PCT application. Where the applicant has complied with the requirements under Rule 17.1 of the PCT regulations, the applicant can choose to furnish a copy of the PCT/IB/304 form instead of having to submit the physical copies of the priority documents.
Author: BIP 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].
