Intellectual Property

Trademarks in India are governed by the Trade Marks Act, 1999 (“Act”) and Trademark Rules, 2017. The Act provides the procedure for the registration of any mark capable of being represented graphically as a word, device, label, numerals, or combination of colours, shape or sound, and capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one person from another. In other words, a trademark is a source identifier of businesses, products and services. ......

The forum for adjudicating commercial suits in India is governed by the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 (“CCA”), where cases are heard by courts at different levels depending on the valuation of the suits. Lesser-valued cases are heard by courts lower in the judicial hierarchy and fall outside the direct scrutiny of the CCA, thus being subject to relatively lower regulation. ......

The timelines for completing various tasks or submitting various documents in the patent prosecution process differ depending on which stage a patent application is at. The various timelines involved in the grant of an Indian patent. ......

Patents help innovators shield their ideas from being copied by competitors. Having a patent separates you from the crowd and puts you one step ahead of others. But patents are not just about standing out in a crowd. They help beat competitors, earn royalty through licensing, bring others to trial, earn returns, create a defensive mechanism, and much more. There is a whole world of benefits that patents open up. ......

Tissue or organ replacement is a medical phenomenon that has saved human lives over the decades. With 3D bioprinting, where functional living human tissues and organs can be fabricated using 3D printing technology, the field has charted a new path, acquired more relevance, and provokes many questions, ethical, medical, legal and beyond. ......

Patent applications for inventions containing biological materials must fully and particularly describe such use of biological materials in the specification. The Indian Patents Act, 1970 (“the Act”) does not define biological materials, but guidance can be found in the European Convention, according to which biological material includes any material that contains genetic information and is capable of reproduction by itself. ......

Cosmetic compositions and methods, like any other inventions, are expected to meet the three step requirement of patentability in India before being granted protection under law, i.e., the invention must meet the criteria of “Novelty”, “Inventive step” and “Industrial Application”. ......

Stem cells are cells that can differentiate or develop into many different types of cells. This unique characteristic grants them great medical significance as they can unravel many secrets about living organisms, diseases, and mortality, and may even be able to treat them. ......

Can it be a good strategy for companies building new-age technologies? The world right now appears to be split between two groups of people having different set of ideologies when it comes to the future of innovation and proprietorship of technology. The first kind are the open-source evangelists and the second, the pro-patent capitalists. ......