201911.05
13

The draft patent rules comes into effect

The Indian Patent Office has notified Patent amendment rules on December 4th 2018 which after stakeholders consultation have now been finalized. The major changes brought by the rules are: Encourage electronic submission of documents: In order to further digitize the operations and move towards paperless office, the new Rules require that all documents including executed form…

201910.22
13

Strict test for comparing Nutraceuticals marks

Sun Pharma Laboratories Ltd (Sun) has filed this suit before the Delhi High Court to restrain the Defendant, Ajanta Pharma Ltd (Ajanta) from using the mark GLOTAB. Sun and Ajanta are registered proprietors of the GLOEYE and GLOTAB marks respectively both of which are used for treating eye ailments. Interestingly both parties’ products are registered…

201910.18
13

India-Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Alliances are now a reality

Indian Patent Office (IPO) is trying to walk the path that t USPTO paved in 2006 by extending its first PPH program to the Japanese patent office (JPO) on a pilot basis. To implement PPH, the Indian patent office has brought amendment in the Patent Rules 2003 notified in September 2019. The objective is to…

201910.04
13

Hullabaloo over Working Statement under the Indian Patent Act

The filing of working statement is a peculiar requirement under the Indian Patent Act. Section146 (1) read with Rule 131 (2), requires every Patent holder to submit before 31st March, a statement on Form 27 to declare whether a Patent has been worked or not in India. The structure of the form and details required to be…

201909.12
13

Amendments to Consumer Protection Act- what Brand owners must know!

To modernize the law relating to consumer protection and to enlarge the scope of the existing law and make it more effective and purposeful, the Consumer Protection Act 2019 has replaced the old Consumer Protection Act, 1986.  The revamping of the Act was much needed as the provisions under the old Act, which is now…

201908.30
13

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) norms eased to attract Brands

The Indian economy has been witnessing a slow down since beginning of 2019. A mixture of international events and domestic fiscal tightening has lead to slowdown in India that not so long ago regularly featured among the world’s fastest growing economy. The government has taken note of this slowdown and made some bold announcements to…

201908.20
13

Injunctions: Paradigm shift for India’s innovators

The interim or preliminary injunction plays a crucial role in IP cases as the focus of the IP holder is to seek an immediate order to stop the infringing activity so as to protect its market share. For a party seeking preliminary injunction, a three-factor test has been laid down by the courts: 1) to…

201908.13
12

Assessing Modi’s impact on IP landscape

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his political party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), once again won the elections with a clear majority and formed the government in May 2019. This is the party’s second term in a row. Interestingly, during the election campaign, one of the adverts released entitled “Transforming India’s IP Landscape” counted, among others,…