Tag: WIPO

The registrability of graphical user interfaces (GUIs) has had a chequered past in India. This post discusses latest developments in this matter, including the fallout of a 2023 Calcutta High Court asking the Designs Office to reconsider an order rejecting the application for registering a GUI design. ......

Traditional knowledge (TK), according to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), is the knowledge, know-how, skills, and practices based on the experience of indigenous people. It is developed, sustained and passed on from one generation to another within a community, often forming part of its cultural or spiritual identity. ...

Patents, like other forms of intellectual property, are jurisdiction specific. In other words, you obtain protection only in those jurisdictions where you have sought protection. The application process is long, and can stretch for months, or even years on end. While the end result, if successful, can be immensely satisfying and rewarding, the prospect of having to repeat this process in other countries can be quite overwhelming. ......

If a patent application discloses any nucleotide or amino acid sequences, the description of the invention must contain a ‘sequence listing’. A sequence listing is a list of biological sequences using defined terms for certain features. This includes descriptive information about each sequence, which is known as annotations. ......

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. ......

Six months after it became a signatory to the Locarno Agreement (which establishes a classification for industrial designs), on 25 January 2021, India notified the Design (Amendment) Rules, 2021 to formally adopt the “Locarno Classification”. ......

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. ......

As India agrees to sign up for the WIPO Copyright Treaty and WIPO Performers and Phonograms Treaty, it scales up a level on protection of rights in the digital environment. Here's a look at what it will mean for authors, as well as actors, musicians, singers and producers of soundtracks, In terms of monetary benefits, international protection, investor trust and more....

The research team at Obhan & Associates have conducted a study to understand the number of women patent applicants in India. It has been heartening to see a considerable rise in the percentage of women applicants since a 2014 article that appeared on the subject. The article looks at, briefly, the role of women in IP the world over, and identifies avenues of further study that can eventually help define policy choices in the future....