“Patent for converting Sign Language to text, Umbrella for Self Defense, Disability Assistance Patents, IPR Courses, Blackberry Patent Licensing, Difference between Continuation application, Divisional application and Continuation in part application, PPH Agreement between Brazil and China, Apple probe by USITC, 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
A good idea and a great draft often make for a good patent. – Gaurav Mishra, Patent Associate, BananaIP Counsels
Indian Patent Statistics
There has been a fair increase in the total number of patent applications that have been published this week by the Indian Patent Office. A total of 2130 patent applications have been published this week as opposed to 1786 application in the previous week. Of the 2130 patent applications, 72 applications account for early publications while 2058 applications are ordinary publications or publications occurring after the 18 month period.
Early Publications
| City | Previous Week | This Week | Percentage of change |
| Delhi | 8 | 3 | 62.5% decrease |
| Mumbai | 70 | 21 | 70% decrease |
| Chennai | 32 | 43 | 34.38% increase |
| Kolkata | 31 | 5 | 83.87% decrease |
| Total | 141 | 72 | 48.94% decrease |
Ordinary Publications
| City | Previous Week | This Week | Percentage of change |
| Delhi | 357 | 778 | 117.93% increase |
| Mumbai | 560 | 367 | 34.46% decrease |
| Chennai | 324 | 644 | 98.77% increase |
| Kolkata | 404 | 269 | 33.42% decrease |
| Total | 1645 | 2058 | 25.11% increase |
TOTAL PUBLICATIONS (Previous Week): 1786
TOTAL PUBLICATIONS (This Week): 2130
Percentage difference: 19.26% increase
PUBLICATIONS UNDER GRANT
| City | Previous Week | This Week | Percentage of change |
| Delhi | 119 | 104 | 12.61% decrease |
| Mumbai | 13 | 31 | 138.46% increase |
| Chennai | 123 | 80 | 34.96% decrease |
| Kolkata | 50 | 32 | 36% decrease |
| Total | 305 | 248 | 18.69% decrease |
Number of Applications published based on applicant city
Of the total 2130 patent applications published this week, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi and Hyderabad have contributed a total of 467 applications. The total applications from each of the previously mentioned cities are as follows – 166 from Mumbai, 146 from Bangalore, 7 from Delhi, 68 from Chennai, 53 from Hyderabad and 27 from Kolkata.
| List of Cities | 1st January 2017 – till date | 11th November 2017 to 17th November 2017 |
| Mumbai | 1495 | 166 |
| Bangalore | 1271 | 146 |
| Delhi | 790 | 7 |
| Chennai | 838 | 68 |
| Hyderabad | 443 | 53 |
| Kolkata | 353 | 27 |
Total number of applications published by the Indian Patent Office from the 1st of January 2017 till 10th November 2017: 31474
- Early publications: 2711
- Ordinary Publications: 28763
Total number of patents granted by the Indian Patent Office from the 1st of January 2017 till 17th November 2017: 11431
- Delhi – 4707
- Mumbai – 1178
- Chennai – 3496
- Kolkata – 2049
First Examination Report (FER) Statistics
A total of 829 FER’s have been issued this 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 | 274 |
| Mumbai | 126 |
| Chennai | 294 |
| Kolkata | 135 |
| Total | 829 |
Indian Industrial Designs Statistics
The designs office at Kolkata has registered a total of 214 designs this week; translating to a modest increase of 3.88% in comparison to the total number of designs registered in the previous week. The total designs registered from the 1st of January 2017 till date now adds to 8522 applications.
Total designs registered in the previous Week: 206
Total designs registered this Week: 214
Percentage Difference: 3.29% decrease
Total designs registered from the 1st of January 2017 till date: 8522
Interesting Patents
From Systems that translate sign language into words, Wheelchairs that aid the disabled and elderly to an umbrella that looks like something right to out of a sci-fi movie, this week’s journal is filled with more interesting patent applications than ever before. While we obviously wanted to list down all of these patent applications, we have restricted ourselves to providing you with details of three of the best applications that we came across in the journal.
Patent Application 1:
Title: A METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR TRANSLATING A SIGN LANGUAGE GESTURE INTO A TEXTUAL FORMAT
Application No. 201721008257
Applicants: Ulhas Dattatraya SHIURKAR and Anita Shamrao WALDE
Abstract: “Disclosed is a system 102 for translating a sign language gesture into a textual format. An image capturing module captures a video frame as an image comprising at least one sign language gesture performed by a person. The pre-processing module processes the image to remove noise data from the image. The noise may be removed pertaining to the at least one sign language gesture present in the image in order to derive a processed image. The feature extraction module extracts a set of features, pertaining to the at least one sign language gesture, from the processed image by using a predefined technique. The translation module applies an optimized Artificial Neural Network (ANN) technique on the set of features in order to optimally translate the at least one sign language gesture into a textual format.” (Abstract has been taken from the patent application as is and has not been corrected.)
Patent Application 2:
Title: AUTOMATED WHEELCHAIR AND BED WITH PRESSURE RELIEVING SEAT AND EASY TOILET FACILITIES
Application No. 201741039582
Applicants: K. Vigneshwarram et al.
Abstract: “Wheel chair cum bed has been a great boon to the old people who are unable to walk and to the amputees, as it improves their mobility and life style to a large extend. A wide range of research has been conducted in this domain by many researchers. In spite of several improvements in wheelchair designs, some serious concerns continue for the wheelchair users of age above 60 years old. An exhaustive literature survey of the problem indicates that the problems faced by the old people are transferring their position from their wheel chair cum bed to toilet for excretion and cleaning of commode pot in case of attached commode pot along with the wheelchair seat. There were also other problems prevailing in case of bedridden patients like bed sores which is caused due to constant pressure applied on some part of the skin. This problem is solved by our innovative design of fixed pressure mattress on all over the wheelchair frame with automatic commode opening on the seat. Thus the name, Automated wheel chair with pressure reliving mattress and commode opening.” (Abstract has been taken from the patent application as is and has not been corrected.)
Patent Application 3:
Title: SELF-DEFENSE UMBRELLA
Application No. 201731037735
Applicants: PIJUSH KANTI DUTTA
Abstract: “This invention relates to a self-defense umbrella and in particular, this invention relates to a self-defense umbrella wherein outer breadth of the upper hollow pipe is smaller than inner breadth of the lower hollow pipe so that upper hollow pipe can be inserted to the lower hollow pipe. More particularly, this present invention relates to a self-defense umbrella in which one folding metal pipe which is attached with metal plate can make electric shock by a AC pulse create circuit attached with a handle of the umbrella. Furthermore, this invention also relates to a self-defense umbrella which has the beneficial effects of having compact structure, to reduce the power consumption and support carrying, and having safety and reliability.”(Abstract has been taken from the patent application as is and has not been corrected.)
BananaIP Updates
Disability Assistance patent application by Dr. Kalyan C. Kankanala, Somashekar Ramakrishna and Nitin Nair, published.
Dr. Kalyan C. Kankanala along with Mr. Somashekar Ramakrishna and Mr. Nitin Nair filed a patent application on the 25th of February 2016; disclosing a method and system for providing assistance to the disabled. The patent application has now been published in the Journal of the Indian Patent Office.
General IP Updates
Top institutes looking to work together on developing IPR courses
Maharashtra National Law University (MNLU), Nagpur, and Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Intellectual Property Management (RGNIIPM) have hinted at a possible collaboration on developing degree courses for intellectual property rights for the next academic session. Speaking on the sidelines of the second World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) — India Summer School, 2017 being held in Nagpur, the vice-chancellor of MNLU hinted that the university may collaborate with RGNIIPM and WIPO to design a curriculum based on domestic and international IPR laws. He was also quoted as stating that there was a “significant demand for lawyers specializing in IPR in the country but due to lack of awareness’, only a few students normally opt for the subject.
Patent Licensing, Commercialization, Mergers and Acquisition
BlackBerry enters into patent licensing agreement with Teletry
Canadian smartphone major BlackBerry has entered into a patent licensing deal with Teletry, a company that is part of the Marconi Group. Marconi Group is a Dallas-based company that specializes in patent licensing. As per the deal, BlackBerry will retain ownership of approximately 40,000 patents and applications, which cover networking infrastructure, messaging, enterprise software and cybersecurity, while continuing operate its own licensing programme. This deal has further settled a year of litigation between the two parties.
Patent disputes, infringement and settlements
USITC to probe Apple for infringement of patents
The US International Trade Commission has announced that it would be investigating Apple for infringement of patents of a Nevada based company called Aqua Connect. The commission is already investigating complaints against Apple over its legal spat with Qualcomm and this new issue is sure to cause some discomfort to Apple.
International Patent Updates
Brazil and China sign PPH Agreement
The State Intellectual Property Office of China (SIPO) has signed a patent prosecution highway (PPH) agreement with the Brazilian National Institution of Intellectual Property (INPI). A pilot programme for the PPH will be launched on the 1st of February 2018.
BananaIP’s Patent Tip of the Week
Difference between a Continuation application, Divisional application and Continuation in part application
Continuation Application – The disclosure in a continuation application is the same as the parent application with claims similar to the parent application.
Divisional application – The disclosure in a divisional application is the same as the parent application but the claims are directed to different subject matter compared to the parent application.
Continuation-In-Part (CIP) Application – A CIP application adds new subject matter to the parent application with claims directed to the new subject matter.
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].
