“Inventors at the core of patent system, Indian Patent Office productivity, School bag patents, Panipuri patents, Artificial heart patents, Electroshoe – anti rape patents, BananaIP’s Unique Seminar on patents for Inventors, Qualcomm vs Apple, Ericsson vs Wiko, Honeywell sues Aprilaire, Malaysia issues Compulsory Licenses for hepatitis drug, Patent tip of the week and more weekly news updates,” presented by the Patent attorneys and experts of BananaIP Counsels, India’s leading Patent Firm.
Patent Quote of the Week
“Patents are not forever, but Inventions are.”
― Dr. Kalyan C. Kankanala, Renowned IP Attorney, Professor and Author.
Indian Patent Statistics
Activity at the patent office appears to have become sluggish this week. There has been a sharp decrease in the total number of patent applications that have been published this week by the Indian Patent Office. A total of 659 patent applications have been published this week as opposed to 1288 applications last week. Of the 659 applications, 102 applications account for early publications while 557 applications are ordinary publications or publications occurring after the 18 month period. Grants have also decreased this week by about 33.01%. The total grants this week are 142 as opposed to 209 grants last week.
Early Publications
| City | Previous Week | This Week | Percentage of change |
| Delhi | 0 | 11 | 100% increase |
| Mumbai | 68 | 35 | 48.53% decrease |
| Chennai | 82 | 51 | 37.8% decrease |
| Kolkata | 12 | 5 | 58.33% decrease |
| Total | 162 | 102 | 37.04% decrease |
Ordinary Publications
| City | Previous Week | This Week | Percentage of change |
| Delhi | 562 | 283 | 49.64% decrease |
| Mumbai | 61 | 65 | 6.56% increase |
| Chennai | 380 | 182 | 52.11% decrease |
| Kolkata | 124 | 27 | 78.23% decrease |
| Total | 1126 | 557 | 50.53% decrease |
TOTAL PUBLICATIONS (Previous Week): 1288
TOTAL PUBLICATIONS (This Week): 659
Percentage difference: 48.84% decrease
PUBLICATIONS UNDER GRANT
| City | Previous Week | This Week | Percentage of change |
| Delhi | 86 | 46 | 46.51% decrease |
| Mumbai | 19 | 17 | 10.53% increase |
| Chennai | 55 | 60 | 9.09% increase |
| Kolkata | 49 | 17 | 65.31% decrease |
| Total | 209 | 140 | 33.01% decrease |
Number of Applications published based on applicant city
Of the total 659 patent applications published this week, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi and Hyderabad have contributed 128 applications in total. The total applications for each of the previously mentioned cities are as follows – 42 applications from Chennai, 31 applications from Mumbai, 24 applications from Bangalore, 22 applications from Delhi and 9 applications from Hyderabad.
| List of Cities | 1st January 2017 – till date | 16th September 2017 to 22nd September 2017 |
| Mumbai | 985 | 31 |
| Bangalore | 903 | 24 |
| Delhi | 631 | 22 |
| Chennai | 588 | 42 |
| Hyderabad | 311 | 9 |
| Kolkata | 105 | 0 |
Total number of applications published by the Indian Patent Office from the 1st of January 2017 till 22nd September 2017: 22259
- Early publications: 2155
- Ordinary Publications: 20104
Total number of patents granted by the Indian Patent Office from the 1st of January 2017 till 22nd September 2017: 8772
- Delhi – 3749
- Mumbai – 914
- Kolkata – 1690
- Chennai – 2419
Indian Industrial Designs Statistics
The designs office at Kolkata has registered a total of 191 designs this week. There is a marginal decrease of 4.5% in the total number of designs registered this week. The total designs registered from the 1st of January 2017 till date now adds to 6831 applications.
Total designs registered in the previous Week: 200
Total designs registered this Week: 191
Percentage Difference: 4.5% decrease
Total designs registered from the 1st of January 2017 till date: 6831
Interesting Patents and Designs
School bag patents, Panipuri patents and Artificial heart patents.
Several interesting patents and industrial designs have been published in the Official Journal of patents and designs dated September 15th, 2017. From fire extinguishing cubes, mosquito controller street lights to wearable AC’s, this week’s Journal is undoubtedly replete with some seriously amazing inventions!
Patent Application 1: Finally! Something cool for school!
Title: A LIGHT WEIGHT JACKET STYLE SCHOOL BAG
Application No. 201641021192
Applicants: Srinivasan Potti Sunitha
Abstract: “A light weight jacket style school bag with two compartments evenly arranged in front, back and sides; front flaps attached with Velcro / Zip, a loop at the centre of the back portion to fasten the belt through it, and adjust according to the physique of the person. The bag distributes the weight on both sides of the body rather than only at the back. A belt is accommodated to ensure better distribution of weight and also provides stability to the whole system as shown in Figure 5 which may accompany the abstract on publication.” (Abstract has been taken from the patent application as is and has not been corrected.)
Patent Application 2: But what about the panipuri wala (panipuri vendor)?
Title: AUTOMATED PANI-PURI VENDING MACHINE
Application No.: 201641030216
Applicants: RISHI SINGH
Abstract: “The present disclosure provides an automated vending machine, specially designed for preparing and dispensing Panipuri wherein a buyer can choose desired quantity, one or more type of hollow bread, one or more flavors of water, one or more sauces, one or more ingredients and one or more fillings. After the successful payment by the buyer over the preferred mode(cash/cashless), the vending machine would prepare and serve a Panipuri one by one to the buyer. Vending machine would have one or more dispensing counter to serve multiple buyers at a time. Vending machine would have individual storage area for various type of hollow breads, various flavors of water, sauces, ingredients and fillings which could be replenished manually as and when required. Panipuri Vending machine would have an option to cool flavored water and heat any of the fillings, as per buyers preference.” (Abstract has been taken from the patent application as is and has not been corrected.)
Patent Application 3: A hearty invention indeed!
Title: PROSTHETIC HEART VALVE
Application No.: 201631009267
Applicants: KAUSHIK KUMAR
Abstract: “A prosthetic heart valve made of hyperelastic material not limited to Neoprene or Silicon Rubber, to be used in place of heart valves affected by valvular disease. The invention comprises of two rings, the outer one for mounting and affixing the valve in place in whichever position as may be required, and the inner one which makes up the body of the valve. The valving mechanism is made up of flap means affixed to the body at the root, and shaped in such a way that the valve automatically closes when reverse flow is encountered. The proposed invention provides better haemodynamic conditions and reduces the regurgitation of blood to a minimum.” (Abstract has been taken from the patent application as is and has not been corrected.)
Startups, Inventions, Innovations
“ElectroShoe” for Women safety
An eighteen year old teenager from Telengana has invented what he calls the “Electroshoe”. Siddharth Mandala, a student and inventor, is trying to help women fight back against aggressors by literally giving them the shock of their life. After witnessing multiple instances of disturbing and life-changing acts of violence against women, Siddharth has designed the Electroshoe, a unique type of anti-sexual assault footwear that electrocutes attackers by inflicting 0.1 Ampere of electricity while also alerting police and family members that the wearer is in danger.
Siddharth has already filed a patent for the electroshoe and is currently working on making the invention work with shoe styles other than flip-flops.
Government news and updates
Patent filings have increased after DIPP came into picture says joint Secretary
Rajiv Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, DIPP (Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion), while attending an event in Bangalore called “Managing Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) for fuelling Business Competence”, has claimed that after the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion streamlined and installed processes, patent filings have increased by about 5%. Mr. Rajiv Aggarwal also claimed that the department has received 377 patent applications from start-ups, out of which 19 patents have been granted in less than a year, the fastest taking just 113 days.
Mr. Aggarwal’s, claims do appear to be true and in conformity with the statistics that we have been highlighting in our patent news updates. Also read our earlier post in this regard – Indian Patent Office working at Lightning Speeds – Kudos!
Patent disputes, infringement and settlements
Qualcomm suffers setback in war against Apple
Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel turned a harbinger of bad news for Qualcomm after he denied Qualcomm a motion that would force Apple’s parts suppliers to pay royalties as per a patent licensing agreement while the court is determining rates for the licenses. Another motion by Qualcomm seeking to prevent Apple from filing parallel lawsuits in other regions has also been denied dealing a huge blow to the San Diego-based chip maker.
Apple and the USFTC are pursuing legal action against Qualcomm for not offering fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory terms on what they consider standard essential patents.
Ericsson sues Wiko for Patent Infringement
Ericsson, the Swedish telecom giant has sued Wiko, a French smartphone manufacturing company for infringement of patents essential for 2G, 3G and 4G cellular technology, as well as implementation patents. Ericsson has alleged that Wiko has been infringing Ericsson’s intellectual property rights for six years without any license or compensation and therefore, as a last resort, Ericsson has been forced to enforce its patents against Wiko’s infringing products.
Honeywell Sues Aprilaire for Patent Infringement
Honeywell, the American multinational conglomerate has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin against Aprilaire, a division of Research Products Inc., which markets indoor air quality products, accusing the company of widespread patent infringement.
In the lawsuit Honeywell has alleged infringement of seven patents related to Honeywell’s forced air zoning products for residential heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems.
BananaIP Patent Updates
BananaIP’s Unique Seminar on Patents for Corporate Inventors – a raging success
BananaIP (BIP) Counsels’ unique seminar on patents for corporate inventors concluded last week on September 22, 2017 at ITC Gardenia in Bangalore. The seminar titled “The Strategic Inventor” was extremely well received and the inventors left the seminar happy and content after having participated in the event which was styled in a most unique manner. The seminar was divided into two sessions with each session having an activity such as conceptual inventing and role play. The second session was styled like a court, where inventors were divided into teams and each team was asked to argue on patent infringement and invalidity based on a problem given to them.
Do check out the camera moments from the session here.
International News
Malaysia issues Compulsory Licenses for Gilead’s Hepatitis C Drug
The Malaysian government has approved a government-use compulsory license which would allow the import of generic versions of Gilead’s patented hepatitis C drug, Sovaldi. This move will apparently make generic and cheaper versions of the same drug, which has been sold globally at $1000 per pill, available to Malaysian public hospitals which would in turn benefit around 4,00,000 people in Malaysia.
In 2015, the Indian Patent Office had rejected Gilead’s application for a patent on the same drug, but later reversed its own decision in 2016, after Gilead appealed to the Delhi high court, which directed the Indian patent office to reconsider its refusal of patent.
BananaIP’s Patent Tip of the Week
Inventors and Patents
Inventors form the core of the patent system, and every company needs happy inventors to generate quality inventions and build competitive patent portfolios. It is therefore important for companies to take good care of their inventors, and provide facilitative work environments to bring the best out of inventors.
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].
