Mumbai Seminar on Section 3(d) - Proof of Efficacy

AIPS (Academy of Intellectual Property Studies) is conducting an one-day seminar on 15th July, 2011 on "Section 3(d): Proof of Efficacy". The seminar will deal with issues relating to proving efficacy under the Indian Patents Act, 1970 based on the decisions that have come out of the Patent Office and the High Courts. I will be the main speaker for the day. Details of the program are available here.

When Words Kill

The right to appeal of a patent applicant whose application is rejected persuant to a pre-grant opposition has been illusory at best. For a legal mind, it is unthinkable to envisage a situation where the first order becomes the final order. My article "How to destroy an invention - the patent office way" appeared in DNA Newspaper today. The same can be read in full at The Vanishing Point.

Neither Here Nor There

Patent Agents are a unique breed. They are expected to know something about both law and science. As many gear up to take the patent agent examination on 23rd January 2010, here is a little piece titled "The Curious Case of Patent Agents" which appeared in today's The Hindu. The article raises certain questions on the current system of selecting patent agents based on a two paper examination followed by viva-voce. The full article can be read at The Vanishing Point.

Talk on Patents, Traditional Knowledge and the Pharmaceutical Industry

Graham Dutfield, Professor at the University of Leeds will be speaking at the Madras Law College (adjacent to Madras High Court) on "Patents, Traditional Knowledge and the Pharmaceutical Industry" on Thursday, 21st January, 2010 at 10:00 am. Those interested can assemble at the Law College campus by 9:45 am. I hope to be there too.

Pharma Patents is Moving to 'The Vanishing Point'

Pharma Patents blog is changing for the better. We are moving to a new blog, The Vanishing Point, a place like the point in perspective drawing where parallels appear to meet. The Vanishing Point Blog discusses issues at the intersection of law and technology. This will give us the room to discuss issues beyond patents and pharmaceuticals which affect technology-based enterprises. Some of the popular posts of pharma patents have been re-posted there. Please subscribe to The Vanishing Point here and continue to get email updates on pharmaceutical patents, law and technology issues and much more.

Opposition as a 'creditable challenge'

Strix Ltd v Maharaja Appliances Ltd (6.11.2009) (Delhi High Court order)

If you have an electric kettle at home, there’s probably Strix inside it. SpicyIP had a nice post on the above judgment. The Delhi High Court granted interim injunction restraining Maharaja Appliances from manufacturing and marketing Maharaja Whiteline electric kettle Model No EK 172 as it infringed Strix’s patent (IN 1,92,511, US 6,080,968). In granting injunction, the Court made two critical observations on why Maharaja failed to discharge its burden of raising a ‘creditable challenge’ to the validity of the Strix patent.

First, the court observed that the defendant failed to place on record some acceptable scientific material, supported or explained by the evidence of an expert, that the patent is prima facie vulnerable to revocation. Secondly, the court observed that the burden on the defendant to show that it has put forward a creditable challenge will be greater on account of the fact that there was no opposition filed to challenge Strix’s patent.

Prospective defendants in patent infringement suits may see a new meaning in using pre-grant opposition.

Other Strix cases:

Strix v Otter Controls [1991] F.S.R. 354 (Court of Appeal rebukes mini-trial)

Patenting Research Tools

The research-intensive biotech industry credits its phenomenal growth to the development of ground-breaking research tools like the recombinant DNA technology, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and the hybridoma technique. Research tools provide the basic foundation for applied downstream research. Many experts have argued that patenting research tools can change the culture of science. The Protection and Utilisation of Public Funded Intellectual Property Bill, 2008 modelled on the Bayh-Dole Act of the US allows universities and research institutions to patent basic research. My article titled "Does Patenting Research change the culture of Science?" appeared in The Hindu and the same can be read here.