Intellectual Property

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed some unusual problems for states and markets all over the world. While medical science and pharmaceutical professionals continue their search for the best drug or vaccine solution for the pandemic, one challenge lies in how this can be equitably distributed to the global population without compromising on various interests. ......

An Indian court has held that in cases of abuse of patent rights, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) could directly examine the complaints without any prior determination by the Controller of Patents (the Controller). ......

With the increasing globalization of our economy and the adoption of numerous brands and products, the possibility of parties infringing, diluting or passing off valuable brands, increase day by day. ... Indian Trademark Law provides civil, criminal, as well as administrative remedies for taking action against infringement, dilution and/ or passing off of a trademark. This note discusses the types of remedies available, and examines the best approach in different scenarios. ......

The #BlackLivesMatter movement has gained traction around the world and has encouraged many corporate entities, including multinational companies (MNCs), to reassess their businesses and marketing policies for signs of discrimination, following the calls against racial inequality after the death of George Floyd in the United States. ...

Patent claims are the most important part of a patent application, for they define the invention for which the Patent Office has granted protection. Patent claims identify what the patent does and does not cover....

Recognising that startups can drive sustainable economic growth and generate large scale employment, the Government of India’s ‘Startup India’ Initiative has sought to develop an ecosystem to strengthen such entities. This ecosystem includes policies that reduce regulatory burdens and provide various concessions that make ‘doing business’ easy....

Patents are a measure of innovation. A healthy patent portfolio of a company indicates that the company has invested significant time, money, and effort in research and development activities within the organization. It also indicates that the company is evolving and constantly striving to bring newer and better products or services into the market. However, patents need to be also looked at as business opportunities and should, ideally, align with the business strategies of the company. Owning a patent gives a company the legal right to commercially exploit its innovation and prevent competitors from imitating or replicating its innovation. Every innovative company, therefore, needs a good Patent Strategy to be successful in the long run....

The ethics of intellectual property has always been a highly debated issue, and spans a range of issues, not least around what kind of patentable subject matter can be regarded as ethically permissible. Jurisdictions, including India, try to tackle this issue by legislating for it in the laws, and excluding inventions that may be morally questionable, but such laws are inherently subjective, and open to interpretation. This note examines the questions that have arisen around inventions related to the tobacco industry in India in this context....

Time and again, it has been held by various courts that an unreasonable delay in enforcing a legal right by a person amounts to acquiescence, which can be fatal to a case for the grant of an interim injunction. In a recent trademark case, the High Court of Delhi reiterated that the Plaintiff, being aware of the Defendant’s adoption of a similar mark, did not bother to conduct due diligence about the use of the mark; as a result of which the Plaintiff was bound to suffer the consequences of delay in seeking injunction. ...