Intellectual Property

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. ...

An anti-suit injunction has always been a matter of interest when it comes to providing parties provisional relief. Anti-suit injunctions are orders passed by courts to restrain parties from commencing or pursuing proceedings in another jurisdiction or forum....

On April 22, 2020, the United States Patent and Trademarks Office (the “USPTO”) issued an order  refusing inventorship of a patent application to DABUS, an Artificial Intelligence (AI) machine. This decision, which broadly appears to align with the position being taken in Europe and the United Kingdom with regard to the same invention, is likely to have a significant impact on the future of patenting, at least until there are statutory amendments to the contrary, or until it gets overturned for any reason....

Today, as the global scientific and research community doubles down on finding a potential drug or vaccine against the novel Coronavirus, the obvious question that arises is of access to affordable drugs and medical equipment. With the high investment required in drug discovery and pharmaceutical research generally, the debate naturally turns to the returns on such investment in times of a public health crisis as the one being faced today. This note seeks to understand if intellectual property (IP) protection will be a barrier to affordable drugs....

In view of the order no. 40-3/2020/DM-I(A) of the Ministry of the Home Affairs (MHA), the Office of Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademark (CGPDTM), has issued a Public Notice on April 20, 2020. According to the notice, all the officers of the rank of Deputy Controller and the above are required attend the office on all working days with immediate effect. ...

The total cost for bringing a new prescription drug to market is about USD 2 to 3 billion (DiMasi et al.). A significant portion of this cost is incurred in conducting clinical trials. The global clinical trials market size is expected to reach USD 69.8 billion by 2027, exhibiting a 5.1% compound annual growth rate (‘CAGR’) during the forecast period. ...

An Indian court has held that in the absence of a patent, common law rights or agreements protecting know-how cannot be a means to circumvent the patent process. In its judgement in Prof. Dr. Claudio De Simone & Anr v. Actial Farmaceutica Srl. & Ors. (17.03.2020, Delhi High Court), a Single Judge dismissing a suit for permanent injunction said that the right to an injunction could only be invoked under Section 48 of the Patents Act, 1970, and no right exists in common law to restrain others from commercially exploiting the know-how of an invention. ...

On February 14, 2020, a Division Bench of the High Court of Bombay lifted an injunction granted to Marico Limited and permitted a social media influencer to post a video reviewing a Marico product, subject to few amendments in the video....