“Indian Patent Statistics, Interesting Inventions, 11th National Intellectual Property Awards – 2019, NLSIU IPR – Technology Law Essay Competition, CUSAT to host 7 – day training program in IP for law teachers, PepsiCo agrees to withdraw law suit against potato farmers and other news updates” presented by the Patent attorneys and experts of BananaIP Counsels, India’s leading Patent Firm.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
A patent, or invention, is any assemblage of technologies or ideas that you can put together that nobody put together that way before. That’s how the patent office defines it. That’s an invention. – Dean Kamen, an American engineer, inventor and businessman.
INDIAN PATENT STATISTICS
A total of 848 patent applications have been published in the 18th issue of the Patent Journal, 2019. Out of the 848 applications, 81 applications account for early publications while 767 applications account for ordinary publications or publications occurring after the 18 – month period. A total of 492 applications were granted last week thereby marking an increase of about 44.28% in grants.
Early Publications
| City | Previous Week | This Week | Percentage of change |
| Delhi | — | 12 | — |
| Mumbai | 1 | 25 | 2400% increase |
| Chennai | 82 | 43 | 47.56% decrease |
| Kolkata | 9 | 1 | 88.88% decrease |
| Total | 92 | 81 | 11.95% decrease |
Ordinary Publications
| City | Previous Week | This Week | Percentage of change |
| Delhi | 315 | 375 | 19.04% increase |
| Mumbai | 43 | 64 | 48.83% increase |
| Chennai | 110 | 231 | 110% increase |
| Kolkata | 110 | 97 | 11.81% decrease |
| Total | 578 | 767 | 113.28% increase |
TOTAL PUBLICATIONS (Previous Week): 670
TOTAL PUBLICATIONS (This Week): 848
Percentage difference: 26.56% increase
FIRST EXAMINATION REPORT (FER) STATISTICS
A total of 1820 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 | 673 |
| Mumbai | 289 |
| Chennai | 636 |
| Kolkata | 222 |
| Total | 1820 |
PUBLICATIONS UNDER GRANT
| City | Previous Week | This Week | Percentage of change |
| Delhi | 118 | 176 | 49.15% increase |
| Mumbai | 54 | 52 | 3.70% decrease |
| Chennai | 100 | 170 | 70% increase |
| Kolkata | 69 | 94 | 36.23% increase |
| Total | 341 | 492 | 44.28% increase |
Number of Applications published based on applicant city
Of the total 848 patent applications published in the journal last week, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kolkata have contributed a total of 135 applications. The total applications from each of the previously mentioned cities are as follows – 27 applications from Delhi, 20 applications from Bangalore, 42 applications from Chennai, 15 applications from Hyderabad and 6 applications from Kolkata.
| List of Cities | 1st January 2019 to 3rd May 2019 | 26th April 2019 – 3rd May 2019 |
| Delhi | 413 | 27 |
| Mumbai | 242 | 25 |
| Bangalore | 491 | 20 |
| Chennai | 450 | 42 |
| Hyderabad | 163 | 15 |
| Kolkata | 118 | 6 |
Total number of applications published by the Indian Patent Office from the 1st of January 2019 till date: 14407
- Early publications: 1376
- Ordinary Publications: 13031
Total number of patents granted by the Indian Patent Office from the 1st of January 2019 till date: 6994
- Delhi – 2512
- Mumbai – 980
- Chennai – 2293
- Kolkata – 1209
INDIAN INDUSTRIAL DESIGN STATISTICS
The designs office has registered a total of 254 designs this week. The total designs registered from the 1st of January 2019 till date now adds to a total of 5160 applications.
Total designs registered in the previous Week: 230
Total designs registered this Week: 254
Percentage Difference: 10.43% increase
Total designs registered from the 1st of January 2019 till date: 5160
INTERESTING INVENTIONS OF THE WEEK
Invention 1: CONTROL OF INDUSTRIAL WATER TREATMENT VIA DIGITAL IMAGING
Patent Application No.: 201917002551
Applicant: ECOLAB USA INC.
Abstract: “Systems for and methods of monitoring and analyzing deposit (e.g. 99) in an industrial water system are provided. The methods comprise heating (e.g. via a heating element 103) a substrate (e.g. 105 ) while the substrate contacts industrial water in the industrial water system to form deposit (e.g. 99) on the substrate (e.g. 105 ). A series of digital images of the substrate while the substrate contacts the industrial water in the industrial water system is created (e.g. via a camera 111). A region of interest in the series of digital images of the substrate is defined. A deposit feature in the region of interest in the series of digital images of the substrate may be identified. The deposit feature in the region of interest in the series of digital images of the substrate may be analyzed to determine a deposit trend of the substrate in the industrial water system.”(The abstract has been provided as is and has not been corrected for errors)
Invention 2: GARBAGE COLLECTING APPARATUS HAVING ROTATING BRUSH AND AUGER DRIVE FOR COLLECTION
Patent Application No.: 201721038983
Applicant: SOLANKI, Gulab Singh
Abstract: “The present disclosure relates to an apparatus having a rotating brush and an auger conveyor of the type which is used to convey feed (or other granular, or powdered, or fluent material) for collecting dust and trash. The apparatus includes an auger screw shaft, having one or more screws or helixes, operatively coupled with a brush having a plurality of stubbles. The brush is adapted to rotate in at least one direction to collect at least garbage from a street and/or a platform using said plurality of stubbles while in rotation, and the auger screw shaft is adapted to rotate in at least one direction to receive said garbage from said brush and communicate to a material storage section while said auger screw shaft is in rotation causing a pressure inside said material storage section to thereby transmit said garbage to an outlet pipe for disposal.”(The abstract has been provided as is and has not been corrected for errors)
INDIAN PATENT UPDATES
11th National Intellectual Property Awards – 2019
On 26th April, 2019 the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) presented the 11th National Intellectual Property Awards, in New Delhi. The award function was held in order to celebrate World Intellectual Property Day, in collaboration with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). The primary objective of recognizing and rewarding exceptional creations in the field of IP is to utilize the “country’s intellectual capital” and create a healthy IP ecosystem. IP Awards essentially consisted of 10 different categories including – Top Individual for Patents & Commercialization, Best Police Unit for enforcement of IP in the Country and Top Startup for IP Commercialization. Each awardee received a cash prize of 1 lakh rupees. Along with the aforementioned National Awards, three special awards were given by WIPO under the WIPO Awards Program. The recipients of these prestigious awards are chosen on the bases of well-defined parameters. IIT – Bombay bagged the award for Top Academic Institution for Patents & Commercialization whereas Tata Consultancy Services Ltd won the award for Top Indian Public Limited Company for Patents & Commercialization and the WIPO IP Enterprises Trophy. Click here to access the awardee booklet.
NLSIU IPR – Technology Law Essay Competition
The Centre for Intellectual Property Research and Advocacy (CIPRA) and the Law and Technology Society of National Law School of Indian University, Bangalore has announced an essay competition that revolves around the broad topic of IPR and Technology Law. The competition is open to undergraduate students, postgraduate students and researchers from various fields. Participants can pick a sub theme that includes – Impact of 5G on IPR, Disclosure requirement in Technical Standards and many more. Interested persons are required to register themselves by the 10th of May, 2019, no registration fees are applicable. All essay’s must be submitted by 20th May, 2019. Winners will be presented with a cash prize, ranging from Rs. 2000 to Rs. 5000. Click here to access the brochure for specifics.
CUSAT to host 7 – day Training Program in IP for Law Teachers
Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) will host a seven – day training program exclusively for law teachers in the month of June, this year. The program will be conducted by the Inter University Centre for Intellectual Property Rights Studies of the University between 21st and 28th June. The program aims to provide expert training in IP laws with regard to its teaching and to encourage research in the field. The training will help teachers address upcoming policy issues and fulfill academic interests. The program was first initiated in the year 2015 where the primary focus was based on different forms of IP. Every year, the training program is built on a special theme, the broad theme for this year is – Developmental Perspectives of IPR Laws. However, special focus will be laid on the Competition and Social Dimensions of IPR’s. It will look into the interface of IP Rights and Competition Law and analyze the regulatory framework that is required in order to bring harmony between the two. The last day to register falls on 15th May, 2019, interested teachers may register themselves by paying small fee.
PATENT / DESIGN INFRINGEMENTS, DISPUTES, LICENSING AND SETTLEMENT
PepsiCo Agrees to Withdraw Suit against Potato Farmers
As reported earlier, PepsiCo recently instituted a law suit against nine potato farmers, alleging them of infringing the company’s intellectual property rights under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmer’s Rights Act, 2001. According to PepsiCo, the nine farmers had performed an act of infringement by growing the FC-5 variety of potatoes without permission from the company. Previously, the company had sued two other farmers on similar circumstances and the case is currently before the High Court of Gujarat. In the current law suit, the food and beverage giant has currently agreed to withdraw the law suit against the farmers of Gujarat. According to reports, the company agreed to not pursue the case after extensive discussions with the Gujarat government and is also said to have received pressure from various sources. The law suit which sought damages of up to 1 crore from each farmer created an outrage and received criticism from a number of activists in the country. Anand Yagnik, Senior Advocate representing the farmers said “I am happy to hear that the company has decided to withdraw the case. But it should be ensured that farmers do not face such false cases in future.”
INTERNATIONAL PATENT UPDATES
EU – Japan Centre to Conduct Webinar on Technology Transfer
EU – Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation will conduct a Webinar on “Technology Transfer – How to efficiently utilize your patent rights” on 27th May 2019. The Webinar is being conducted in order to increase the understanding of the patent system in Japan as the patent office has observed an increase in the number of patent applications filed in the Japanese Patent Office by European Applicants. Some of the topics to be discussed include – Infringement lawsuits, Countermeasures against counterfeit items and the defects in customs injunctions and many others. The Webinar is expected to be useful to both existing patent holders and future patentees. However, the Webinar is available to companies, researchers and universities based in the European Union and Japan. The last day to register falls on 24th May, 2019. Click here for more information.
Authored and compiled by Vibha Amarnath
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]
