Patent

A divisional patent application (also known simply as a “divisional”) is a patent application that is based on, or derived from, a previously-filed parent application. Divisionals are filed when the claims in a parent application pertain to more than one invention. ......

After five decades of remaining unchanged, the unique requirement of the “statement of working” of patents in India has finally received a much-needed overhaul. The amendments to Form 27, under which the statement must be submitted to the Indian Patent Office (IPO) periodically, were notified under Patent (Amendment) Rules, 2020, and came into effect from 19 October 2020. ......

India has recently notified amendments to its patent rules which are likely to speed up, and significantly reduce the cost of, patent filing for applicants claiming priority from international applications. ......

The first administrative encounter in the long road to patent protection is with the Indian Patent Office (the ‘IPO’). Here, the Controller is the key decision-maker in matters of the grant and renewal of patents. Naturally, this decision-making authority, powerful as it is, is also safeguarded through various legal provisions so as to be shielded from abuse. ......

The Indian medical device market is among the top 20 in the world and is expected to reach INR 794.29 billion by the end of 2023. Whilst highly lucrative, this market also presents a highly competitive environment. To stay ahead in the game, therefore, protecting one’s invention and ensuring its timely introduction in the market are key factors. ......

Besides the patentability requirements of novelty, inventive step, and being capable of industrial applicability, a patent application must also meet the enablement requirement in order to be granted. A patent application is said to be enabled if the application provides sufficient details that enable a person of ordinary skill in the related field to practice the invention. ......

Patent disputes that involve complex technologies cannot usually be resolved by judges alone. Training in the law is hardly sufficient to understand the nuances of the technology underlying a patent, and by corollary, makes it difficult to adjudicate on questions of patent infringement. For this reason, courts are allowed to appoint independent Scientific Advisors to assist in the understanding of the scientific or technical questions pertaining to the dispute in question. ......

Change is synonymous with Startups. Startup teams are constantly innovating, exchanging new ideas, conducting new experiments, and learning new lessons along the way. What’s really exciting about this is the potential for generating new Intellectual Property (IP) for the Startup each time you have a breakthrough. ......

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. ......