IPR NEWS & VIEWS

ARE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS HUMAN RIGHTS?

2011-08-14T06:52:00.000-07:00

The link between Intellectual Property Rights and Human Rights is on which has arisen in recent times. There has been a lot of conflict as regards these two rights. NGO’s have played a stellar role in trying to advocate that Intellectual Property Rights be regarded as Human Rights.

The concept of Human rights has been promulgated in various International Treaties like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the ICESCR and the ICCPR. The same principle have been inculcated in various national laws.

There are 3 interpretations which are available in the contemporary world”-

1) Intellectual Property Rights have no Human rights dimension. This angle has been discredited due to the text of the Solemn Declaration of the states of the Berne Union wherein it was stated that IPR’s are Human Rights.

2) Intellectual Property Rights are Human Rights with emphasis on property. This has for long been recognized as a basic human right and NGO’s have taken a lot of effort for the same to be recognized as such. This can be clearly seen in the U.S Constitution (Article 1 Clause 8) which talks about the progress of science and arts and also in the Article 17, 27 of the Universal declaration of Human Rights and also Article 15 of the ICESCR. This kind of n approach tries to maintain a balance between Human Rights and IPR.

3) Some aspects of IPR have potentially adverse implications on Human Rights. Article 15 of the ICESCR tried to balance the public god as well as the private good. But the question arises as to where to draw the line for the protection so as to maintain this balance.

The link between these two rights can be seen in the field of education as well as in the field of the right to access to medicines. It is in the later that the role of NGO’S has been of stellar importance. To explain the conflict we shall look at certain countries in which such conflicts have already arisen.

The country of South Africa emerged from apartheid rule in 1994. The events after this proved to be crucial in sharing South Africa’s policies. Firstly NGO’s campaigned to improve access to Anti-Retroviral Drugs (ARV). These NGO’s also interfered to address the relationship between Human Rights and Intellectual property Rights.

The HIV/AIDS was spreading rapidly in South Africa. The NGO’s found the going tough due to the fact that the attitude of the govt. officials was not conducive to the providing of ARV drugs and treatment of HIV/AIDS as they had their own ideas as to how to treat the disease. This attitude of the govt. can be seen in the statement of President of the country, Thabo Mbeki who questioned whether AIDS was caused by HIV and he also stated that he was not sure whether ARV were safe or not.

An NGO known as Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) was formed out of a rally which was held in South Africa. The objectives of this NGO were to campaign for the equitable access to the treatment of medicines for HIV/AIDS. There main methods of campaign were through the instruments of litigation and lobbying.

In the year 2001, around 39 Pharmaceutical companies, represented by the Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Association (PMA) brought an action before the High Court of South Africa. This was against an amendment wherein the Health Minster would have the power to issue compulsory licenses and to allow parallel imports. The PMA stated that this was against Article 31 of the TRIPS provisions. The TAC obtained permission from the court to be amicus curiae. There was a lot of media scrutiny and publicity and due to the huge amount of pressure and negative press, the PMA withdrew its complaint.

In Brazil, a number of NGO’s were acting on behalf of the people with HIV/AIDS and these NGO’s were instrumental in formulating the health care system of Brazil. Art. 196 of the Brazilian Constitution enshrined the Right to Health. The health care system is one in which the State provides for medicines to those who need it.

In 1990, the government began to freely give out AZT, an ARV drug to the citizens of Brazil due to the increase in the cases of HIV/AIDS. This drug was initially manufactured by Glaxo- Smith Kline. As the number of people with AIDS increased the amount of medicines required also rose. These drugs were priced at a very high rate and therefore the government found it difficult to send such huge sums of money to buy these drugs to provide for the masses.

Due to these high prices, the government began to procure generic version of these drugs which were being manufactured locally. These were much cheaper and helped the government procure them at a cheaper rate and give them out to their citizens thus fulfilling their constitutional obligations. Till 1997, Pharma Companies were allowed to reverse engineer these patented drugs. After the advent of the TRIPS agreement, laws were introduced to protect these pharma companies.

The aim of the Brazilian government was to maintain a balance between patents and the right to health and access to medicines. The instrument which they used to maintain this balance was the one of compulsory licenses. The government, by using this instrument was able to arm twist he MNC’s to reduce the prices of drugs.

The U.S brought a complaint against Brazil and requested the WTO Dispute Settlement Body to resolve the dispute between them. According to them, the instrument’s of parallel importing and compulsory licenses were violating the TRIPS agreement. There was a huge uproar in Brazil and under a lot of media pressure, the U.S government withdrew their complaint.

In India, Right to health is read into the wide ambit of Article 21 of the Indian Constitution which talks of the Right to life and personal liberty. But India being a signatory hd to comply with the TRIPS provisions. They delayed the same till the year 2005 as to allow their generic drug manufacturers to be able to reverse engineer ad provide drugs so that the fundamental right of health could be pursued for the benefit of the citizens of India.

The Lawyers Collective organization was founded by Mr. Anand Grover and Indira Jaisingh with the aim of giving free legal advice. This organization commenced separate HIV/AIDS unit as a result of Mr. Anand Grover’s involvement in a case of Dominic D’souza. The main question was theater artiste and a celebrity. Hew s arrested by the Go Police and imprisoned due to him being suspected of HIV/AIDS under the Goa Public Health Amendment Act. Such a quarantining manner was not liked by activists ld by Mr. Grover who fought for a human right based approach. The court held that the needs of the people suffering from HIV/AIDS needed t be addressed.

In all of the above we can clearly see how a conflict between Intellectual Property Rights and human rights related to health ad access to public medicines has come about. This conflict to a great extent has arisen due to a proper balance not being there. This conflict becomes higher due to the fact that many countries have incorporated human rights as part of their constitution and therefore are obligated to protect and guarantee the same. In such an environment, the high prices of essential drugs is not conducive.

When we look at it from the view point of the Pharmaceutical companies, their angle happens to be that a huge amount of money is pent on Research d Development. Furthermore, due to them putting in their skill and labour, the fruits of their labour belong to them and they should have the right to be rewarded for it. This justification an be found in the theory of Thomas Hobbes (Social Contract Theory). Tey also state that since they are given time limit in which to exploit the fruits of their labour they should be able to decide what price they put on the same as well. After this time, the knowledge becomes public knowledge and they no longer can exploit the same. Also, unless you provide some incentive to these pharma companies, they wil not be interested in developing drugs for various ailment sin the world. Is can clearly be seen by the lack of medicines for diseases which have no commercial value and which are not widespread iike African sleeping sickness.

To protect IPR’s is essential but to protect the basic principles of Human rights is important as well. IPR’S can in conclusion be regarded as human rights with a strong emphasis on property. Proper balance is required between the two, if not conflicts such as has been listed above will arise.

2011-03-05T02:07:00.000-08:00

2011-01-07T11:59:00.001-08:00

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Law.com - Facebook Makes Good on Threat to Sue Lamebook

2010-11-15T23:40:00.000-08:00

Law.com - Facebook Makes Good on Threat to Sue Lamebook

US Trademark Commissioner Beresford To Retire

2010-11-09T01:55:00.000-08:00

US Trademark Commissioner Beresford To Retire: "United States Trademark Commissioner Lynne Beresford has announced she will retire on 30 December, according to the US Patent and Trademark Office. Deputy Commissioner for Trademark Operations Deborah Cohn will succeed Beresford and assume her new position as of 31 December.

Changes At USPTO, Sidley’s Geneva Office

IP-Watch Chairs IP Law Summit

Dawn Of WIPO Industrial Design Treaty Talks; Internet As Trademark Danger Zone

European Ruling Could Reshape Collective Copyright Levy System

2010-10-25T14:33:00.000-07:00

European Ruling Could Reshape Collective Copyright Levy System: "In a ruling expected to rock Europe’s controversial copyright levy system, the European Court of Justice held on 20 October that governments may impose fees on digital reproduction equipment to compensate rights holders only when the devices are likely to be used for private copying.

Special Report: The Significance Of Europe’s Ruling On Google Ads And Trademarks

European Broadcasters Call For Easier Copyright Clearance For Online Content

Global IP Enforcement Push Impacting Consumer Access, 2010 IP Watchlist Finds

WIPO Launches New Technical Assistance Database

2010-10-19T11:03:00.000-07:00

WIPO Launches New Technical Assistance Database

WIPO Launches New Database to Profile IP Case Studies

2010-10-18T04:39:00.000-07:00

WIPO Launches New Database to Profile IP Case Studies

WTO Paragraph 6 Meeting Aims At Improved Use Of Health Waiver

2010-10-18T04:38:00.000-07:00

WTO Paragraph 6 Meeting Aims At Improved Use Of Health Waiver: "The agenda has been circulated for the upcoming annual World Trade Organization review of an amendment to international IP trade law that has so far failed to increase access to needed medicines for the poorest economies. It shows a deeper look at existing measures and opens the possibility of new solutions to the issue.

Health Waiver, IP Enforcement Discussed At Lively WTO TRIPS Council Meeting

Drug Access Waiver Debate Looms For June TRIPS Council Meeting

WTO Members To Consider Review Of TRIPS Public Health Amendment

The Collision Of Trademarks And Domain Names In Switzerland : Internet Business Law

2010-05-12T21:08:00.000-07:00

The Collision Of Trademarks And Domain Names In Switzerland : Internet Business Law

Artist claims Green Day stole artwork for concert backdrop--The Hollywood Reporter | Esq. | Entertainment and Media Law

2010-03-25T03:00:00.000-07:00

Artist claims Green Day stole artwork for concert backdrop--The Hollywood Reporter | Esq. | Entertainment and Media Law

L'OREAL vs. VLCC

2010-02-09T00:51:00.000-08:00

There seems to be a dispute between the above mentioned companies with regards to the mark 'FUEL'. VLCC seems to have acquired the mark from a businessman, Mr. Mahesh Chaudhary int he year 2006.

L'oreal is reported to have acquired the same fromt he same individual. If true, both of these companie shave been duped. The next question is whether they can co-exist within the ambit of Section 12 of the Trademarks Act, 1999?

A hearing is scheduled at the Delhi High Court in the future....

INDIA JOINING THE MADRID PROTOCOL

2010-02-03T22:16:00.000-08:00

The Lok Sabha, the lower House of the Indian Parliament has passed an amendment to the Trademarks Act wherein the country could sign the Madrid Protocol within the next year.

This is huge step forward as it would enable MNC's to file for trademark protection in India using the Madrid system. In the current economic scenario where we see Indian Companies forging ahead with Merger & Acquisition, this move could prove to be beneficial for Indian Companies as well.

Apple Files iPad Design Trademarks - Patently Apple

2010-02-03T19:56:00.000-08:00

Apple Files iPad Design Trademarks

SPICY IP: Asked not to Dial : Just Dial Accuses Askme of Data Theft

2010-02-03T04:14:00.000-08:00

SPICY IP: Asked not to Dial : Just Dial Accuses Askme of Data Theft

BHARTI WAL MART FACES HURDLES

2010-01-18T19:50:00.000-08:00

The Bharti Wal-Mart joint venture in India is facing problems with the trademarking of some of its food products.

In 2008 the company filed applications to register its Great Value (GV) label with a logo to the Indian Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks.

It has been reported that the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks office did not grant either the logo or the trademark to Bharti Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart has successfully registered the GV brand in other countries without incident, and the company has already launched several GV products in India without having the appropriate trademark registration for the products.

Bharti Wal-Mart has also filed several applications seeking to trademark ‘Indian-sounding' names, such as Sankskar, Sabhyata, Cimran, Pranay, Srishti and Jovaki, but the company faced opposition to most of these applications

NIVEA WINS

2010-01-04T21:11:00.000-08:00

Nivea, a global skin- and body-care brand owned by Beiersdorf Company of Germany, has prevailed in its trademark dispute with Yingzi Cosmetics Co., Ltd. The Beijing People's No. 2 Intermediate Court ruled that although Yingzi's "OUMEINA" trademark is not identical to Beiersdorf's "NIVEA" trademark, the pattern, word arrangement and wrapping were similar enough to cause customer confusion and constitute trademark infringement.

Yingzi argued against customer confusion, asserting that Nivea is not a well-enough known brand in China, that the marks "NIVEA" and "OUMEINA" are not similar, and that the respective customer classes are different (e.g., the respective brands have different price ranges and are carried in different stores). Yingzi also argued that the Nivea wrapping is typical cosmetics wrapping, and therefore did not distinguish Beierdorf's products.

Nevertheless, the court ruled against Yingzi, because the respective brands are used in the same industry and in association with same product type. Moreover, although the marks are different and the wrapping is arguably generic, the decorations (colors and shapes) on Nivea's wrapping are sufficiently unique to cause customer confusion where Yingzi's wrapping decorations were similar. The court ordered Yingzi to pay damages of RMB120,000 to Beiersdorf.

RAYBAND SUNGLASSES

2009-10-14T07:23:00.000-07:00

The makers of Rayban sunglasses, "Luxottica" had succeeded in obtaining John doe orders against many shop owners who are selling fake Rayban sunglasses. The court has directed that action by seizure of fake products in such shops.

John Doe orders are passed to enable seizure of infringing goods and operate against any potential defendant, who is identified subsequently

KOTAK MAHINDRA WINS A DOMAIN NAME

2009-10-11T06:08:00.000-07:00

Kotak Mahindra bank won a domain name dispute at the WIPO against an individual who had used KOTAK as his domain name. A complaint was filed by the bank against the individual of South Korean descent on July 16, 2009.

Than bank did hold a trademark registration for the mark KOTAK in South Korea which it had got on October 28, 2003.

ARUN JAITLEY FIGHTS FOR HIS DOMAIN NAME

2009-09-17T01:45:00.000-07:00

Mr. Arun Jaitley ahs decided to move the Delhi High Court with regards to the auctioning of the url "www.arunjaitley.com".

Mr. Jaitley had suposedly approached Network Solutions Inc. (the company who owns the domain name) for the ownership of the same. He was informed that the domain name was "pending deletion". Within a day or two, the domain name was transfered to an auction Company called Portfolio Brains who in turn put up the same for an auction. The cost of the same is ruored to eb around $ 14,445.

NO TO TWEET

2009-08-20T00:12:00.000-07:00

In a blow to Twitter, the USPTO has primarily denied the Trademark application for th word “tweet”.

Twitter originally filed for the trademark on April 16. In the application, the company expressed its desire to use tweet “through the applicant’s related company or licensee the mark in commerce on or in connection with the identified goods and/or services.” It seemed like a standard application that, once reviewed, would make “tweet” one of Twitter’s registered trademarks.

But after reviewing Twitter’s application and sifting through its listing of pending applications, the Patent Office found that three companies had already applied for trademarks that contained “tweet” in their names. They were simply too close to the trademark Twitter wanted.

The Patent Office attached applications sent by those three companies–TweetMarks, Cotweet, and Tweetphoto–with Twitter’s rejection notice. In that notice dated July 1, the Patent Office explained that each of those trademark applications were filed with its office before Twitter’s application.

“Marks in prior-filed pending applications may present a bar to registration of applicant’s mark,” the office wrote.

It went on to say that Twitter’s tweet mark “may be refused registration under Trademark Act Section 2(d) because of a
likelihood of confusion between the two marks.” It couldn’t say for sure that it would be refused registration, since the three previous applications were still pending.

MICROSOFT IN TROUBLE

2009-08-13T21:23:00.000-07:00

Microsoft Corp. has landed itself in deep waters. The district court of Eastern Texas has given an injunction agaist MS Word. Any version of Word which can open up an custom XML file has been banned as it infringes the patent of a Canandian Comoany known as i4i.

This comes a s blow for microsoft which was planing on launching its 2010 version. Thsi alos may affect the deal Microsoft tied up with Nokia Recently to provide MS Office application to Nokia Phones.

MICHAEL JACKSON'S PATENT

2009-06-28T23:48:00.000-07:00

The untimely death of Michael Jackson has creatin a wave of emotion. In the filed of IPR MJ is wrongly credited with his trademark move the Moon walk. This dance move was in use by other breakdances...MJ just made it famous..so famous that it its origins was atributed to him.

But there is a move which MJ did invent and he did get the Patent for the same. He was granted US Patent No. 5,255,452 for a move in his "Smooth Crminal" Video.

IPL TEAM NAMES APPLIED FOR TM REGISTRATION

2009-06-10T20:57:00.000-07:00

A company called KBJ Asset Holding in South Africa is trying to register as trademarks the various team names like Deccan Chargers, KKR etc as their trademarks. These are the team namesof the very popular IPL which had recently concluded in South Africa.

This would amoutnt o a gross violation ofthe rghts and the popularity which these tems enjoy. Various recourses to tacklet he sae are being worked out by legal practionerds in India.

MARICO vs. ADITYA BIRLA

2009-05-19T21:16:00.000-07:00

In a fight of a monumental nature, Marico has filed a suit against the use of the Kara Skin Wipes against that of Marico's well established and registered Trademark Kaya Skin Wipes. Marico have also opposed the same at the Trdaemark Registry.

The matter wil be heard at the Delhi High Court in the month of July.

GOOGLE IN HOT WATER OVER ANDROID

2009-05-04T21:19:00.000-07:00

In 2002, Erich Specht was awarded a trademark for the use of the name Android Data. The name was applied to his IT software company. The Compnay was dissolved in 2004. In the year 2007, Google came out and made a statement as regards to the launch of its Android OS.

tHE uspto denied Google the right to the name Android over possible product confusion. Google continued to using the name. Specht re-registered a domain for his defunct company and filed a complaint with the trademark office, reading in part:

"]t is clear that Google stole first and asked questions later... Even though they could have, as they put it, arbitrarily chosen any name to brand their products, Google and the OHA members intentionally and without justification chose to affix Plaintiff's Android mark to their websites, products, services, and press releases without regard to ownership."

Specht has filed suit with all the companies involved in the Android Alliance (48 in total), for damages equaling $2 million

IP DAY

2009-04-22T21:06:00.000-07:00

The world will celebrate the World IP Day on this sunday , April 26, 2009. On this day, we hope that the world will look at IP in a new light and will ensure that the same will be protected.

PIRATE BAY

2009-04-17T22:28:00.001-07:00

A Swedish court has sentenced the four men who masterminded The Pirate Bay -- the world's most high-profile file-sharing website -- to a year's imprisonment. The four (Frederik Neij, Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, Carl Lundstrom and Peter Sunde) have been convicted of criminal copyright infringement and must also pay 30m kronor in damages.

SPAIN SIGNS SINGAPORE TREATY

2009-03-03T19:59:00.000-08:00

Spain has signed the Treaty of Singapore on Trademarks on Feb 18, 2009. It will come into effect in Spain of May 18, 2009. Together with Spain there are 10 other signatories to the treaty.

INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY LAW

2009-02-17T20:11:00.000-08:00

On February 12, 2009, the Parliament of the republic of Macedonia adopted a new Industrial Property law.

RELEASE OF TKDL

2009-02-05T21:23:00.000-08:00

The traditional knowledge Digital Library has been released. This ambitious project has been brought with a desire to protect India’’s Traditional knowledge. The EPO will now consult the above before granting a patent. This will pevent many cases where traditional knowledge has been sought to be patented by those of other countires.

NEW CONTOLLER GENERAL APPPOINTED

2009-01-22T23:20:00.000-08:00

Mr. P.H.Kurian, a malayali of the 1986 cadre of the IAS has been appointed the new Controller General of the Patent, Designs and Trademarks. This is historic in nature as it is for the first time that an IAS officer is being appointed.

All IP practioners are waiting with baited breath to see whether any changes will come about in the Registry’s. There are many much desired changes that are urgently required to arrest ineeficient maner in which the Registry’s are presently running.

A new change being noticed is that the examiners are writing their comments on a sheet of paper which is being attached with the examination report when being sent.

CRISTIANO RONALDO's TRADEMARK

2009-01-14T20:53:00.000-08:00

The Telegraph today reported that Cristiano Ronaldo, who is Portuguese, has obtained a Portuguese trade mark for the mark 'CR9' fuelling speculation that Ronaldo will leave his current club Manchester United to play for Real Madrid. The newspaper states that Ronaldo, who currently plays for Manchester United wearing a No 7 shirt, has been promised the No 9 shirt by the Spanish club Real Madrid.

MOLDOVA RATIFIES SINGAPORE TREATY

2008-12-29T02:36:00.000-08:00

The republic of Moldova has ratified the Singapore treaty on the Law of Trademarks and the treaty wil formally come in to force on the March 16, 2009.

CSE INFRINGES COPYRIGHT OF HT

2008-12-22T03:54:00.000-08:00

The Delhi High Court has asked the CSE or the Center for Sciemce and Environment, to remove all material which they had taken from Hindustan Times.

The CSE was infringing the copyright of HT by repreoducing material verbatime from HT's publications and potraying them as their own.

Copyright inringement on the Internet seems to be on the increase and users will have to be wary as to how they use materila which they put on the Internet.

HUGH LADDIE PASSES AWAY

2008-11-30T20:35:00.000-08:00

Sir Hugh Laddie, a respected and a legendary figure in the field of IPR passed away. He was born in the year 1946 and contributed greatly to IPR especially in the fields of Patents and Copyright. His various decisoons and utterances which are of great academic interest can fill many books by itself.

He was a great man and his loss will be deeply felt in the IPR arena.

FC LIVERPOOL AND TM

2008-11-17T23:40:00.000-08:00

A spat has arisen over the application of the mighty Liverpool Football Club to register the Liverbird element of its famous badge as a United Kingdom trade mark for goods in Classes 6, 14, 16, 18, 31 and 25 in the face of opposition from local politicians.

ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL

2008-11-12T22:34:00.000-08:00

Lego was the receipent of bad news today from the CFI. The CFI rejected Lego's appeal against OHIM's Board of Appeal's decision that the Lego brick shape is not registrable as a CTM.

SULLING OF THE MERCEDEZ BRAND

2008-11-02T23:24:00.000-08:00

Mercedez Benz has requested that their trademarks be removed from the movie Slumdog Millionaire by Director Danny Boyle. In the companies opinion, they believe that their mark would be sullied as the show is set in the slums.

The question arises as to whether the it would have resulted in sullign or not. Mercedez is a well known brand and the people who know about a Mercedez will definitly not be taken in by the movie and the showing of the brand in a slum as they are informed viewers and know something about cars.

PATENT FOR BHARATMATRIMONY.COM

2008-10-29T23:50:00.000-07:00

Bharatmatrimony.com has filed for patent protection for programs like veriprofile and virtual matrimony meet. For more information read the article at this link

http://www.techgoss.com/Story/804S14-Patent-shaadi-meets.aspx

NEW GI IN ANDHRA PRADESH

2008-10-29T23:45:00.000-07:00

CII-Andhra Pradesh Technology Development Centre, Hyderabad in Collaboration with Andhra Pradesh Handicrafts Development Corporation have facilitated the grant of Geographical Indications of Nirmal Painitings, Nirmal Furnitures and Leather Puppetry. This is the first hand made paintings, furniture and leather puppets from the state of A.P to be granted a Geographical Indication.

BIKE GANG'S TRADEMARK BANNED

2008-10-27T01:51:00.000-07:00

US Department of Justice has effectively seized control of the trade mark of the Mongols motorcycle gang, a picture of a Mongolian warrior wearing sunglasses. The gang appears to have been engaged in violent crime, and at the same time as the injunction banning the use of the trade mark, 79 gang members were indicted. Although the injunction banning the logo originally cracked down on distribution or sale of the logo, it now states that gang members "shall surrender for seizure all products, clothing, vehicles, motorcycles ... or other materials bearing the Mongols trademark, upon presentation of a copy of this order."de mark, 79 gang members were indicted. Although the injunction banning the logo originally cracked down on distribution or sale of the logo, it now states that gang members "shall surrender for seizure all products, clothing, vehicles, motorcycles ... or other materials bearing the Mongols trademark, upon presentation of a copy of this order."

THE MINT vs. CSE

2008-10-23T21:24:00.000-07:00

A copyright battle has ensued between The Mint (newspaper) and CSE or Center for Science and Environment. The Mint has alleged that CSE has reproduced a large number of copyrighted articles of The Mint on www.indiaenvirnomentalportal.org.in.

These allegations by the mint have been made by its editor on its blog

GOOGLE THUMBNAILS INFRINGE COPYRIGHTS?

2008-10-19T21:56:00.000-07:00

Two German court rulings that Google thumbnail images infringe copyright. Since there is no duty on owners of copyright images to let search engine indexing robots know what files to avoid, the need to avoid infringing copyright rests firmly on Google's shoulders.

TATA's WIN AWARD

2008-10-14T21:13:00.000-07:00

“ TCS' mKrishi has been developed to provide personalised information and expert advice to rural farmers in their local language using sensor technology. It is also adaptable to illiterate farmers to make a query from a cell phone using voice-specific functions.”

The TATA's have gone on to to win the Social Innovation award for this year.

FIGHT OVER ABSOLUT

2008-10-13T01:40:00.000-07:00

V& S Vin and Spirit, the proprietor of Absolut have begumn proceedings against Virgin Radio which has been rebranded as Ansolute Radio.

V & S Vin and Spirit owns the treademark to Absolut vodka and Absolut radio. They claim Virgin Radio is infringing their mark.

COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT BY MAJOR NEWSPAPERS

2008-10-10T02:45:00.001-07:00

Blogs have become very popular on the Internet. Recent reports show that numerous newspapers are downloading and using photograps which have been clicked by bloggers and put up on blogs. This is a violation of copyright whic is vested with the individuals who got those photographs.

Major papers like Times of India, Hindustan Times along with numerosu local newspapers are guilty of the same.

But the question arises as to how much protection can the bloggers avail of. To be practical, it is a very diffcult thing to monitor the usage of photographs on Blogs. The newspaper agency has to just ensure that they use a photograph of a blog which is owned by someone in another country. That individual wuld nt even know of the misuse as he doesnt get copies of tthe ppaper at his country.

Stringent measure are called for to discourage and to prevent the same.

E- FILING OF TRADEMARKS IN FRANCE

2008-10-06T21:40:00.000-07:00

The French Trade Mark Office (INPI) has officially launched its e-filing platform this morning athttp://depot-marque.inpi.fr (available in French only). The online filing of French trade mark applications had been tested this summer with several trade mark professionals.

CSIR TO SET UP HOLDING COMPANY

2008-10-05T22:45:00.000-07:00

To monotezie its inventory of patnets, CSIR is planning on setting up a holding company, to whom all patents nealry amounting to 300 would be transferred, to liscence out and sell patents to companies like Intellectual Ventures so as to make the maximum money out of the liscensing and giving out of patents which they hold.

CSIR presently spend a huge amount of money maintaining and filing patents than it earns from the revenues of the patents.

uch a move would increse profit margins and the technology could alos be use to alleviate the conditons of the poor.

NATONAL INNOVATION ACT, 2008

2008-10-02T21:43:00.000-07:00

India has unveiled the National Innovation Act, 2008 . The aim of the act as satated in the preamble is as follows;

"An Act to facilitate public, private or public- private partnership initiatives for building an Innovation support system to encourage Innovation, evolve a National Integrated Science and Technology Plan and codify and consolidate the law of confidentiality in aid of protecting Confidential Information, trade secrets and Innovation. "

To access the full act. go to http://dst.gov.in/draftinnovationlaw.pdf

HARI PUTTAR

2008-09-30T23:52:00.000-07:00

For more news on the review of the movie Harri Puttar please visit http://spicyipindia.blogspot.com/2008/09/hari-puttar-reviewing-movie-and.html

HEARING OF FIRST PRODUCT PATENT OPPOSITION

2008-09-28T21:25:00.000-07:00

The Patent Office has begun the hearing of Pegasys, India's first product patent under the new Patent Act, which had been granted to Roche India, the Indian branch of the Swiss Hoffman La Roche, and then subsequently received one of India’s first post-grant opposition in March last year.

TRADEMARK THE ANTHEM?

2008-09-28T21:24:00.000-07:00

The organizers of the 2010 Olympics have applied for registration of 2 lines of the Canadian National Anthem as a trademark. The trade mark would only be able to be used to crack down on traders selling Olympic merchandise, rather than people actually singing the national anthem.

PATENT SUPER HIGHWAY

2008-09-28T21:23:00.000-07:00

The EPO has just announced that the Patent Prosecution Highway (their capitals) is due to begin on 29 September. This scheme will allow patent applications that have been examined and allowed in either the USPTO or the EPO to be fast-tracked in the other office. The programme will run for a trial period of 1 year, after which the offices will assess whether it is worth being fully implemented

ARRIVAL OF INTELLECTUAL VENTURES LLC

2008-09-24T21:36:00.000-07:00

Intellectual Ventures LLC, a companyt which has courted a lot of controversy is entering the Indian market. The basic business of the company is buying of patents and then liucensing them out to others. At prsesent it is rumored that teh compnay owns around 20,000 patents.

It has entered into agremenst with Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Indian Institute of Technology,Bombay and may sign an agreemt with Counsil Of Scientific and Industrila Research to take over their patents.

The company is founded by Mr. Nathan Myhrvold who was tye former Cheif Technology officer of Microsoft.

CIPLA TAKE'S ON ROCHE (Part II)

2008-09-24T21:34:00.000-07:00

Cipla recently introduced Valcept, a generic equivalent of Roche's patented Valcyte, an anti infective predominantly used by HIV patients:

"This is the second instance of Cipla launching a low-cost version of Roche’s patent-protected drug after India's amended patent law began to recognise product patents or patents for specific drugs instead of protection to the processes through which medicines are produced. While Roche had dragged Cipla to the court on the earlier occasion, it is yet to seek legal remedy on valganciclovir.

WIPO DIRECTOR-GENERAL SPEECH

2008-09-23T21:12:00.000-07:00

World Intellectual Property Organization Director-General Francis Gurry, made a very eloquent acceptance speech in whihc he outlined the development of IP and the various issues regarding it.The entire text of the speech can be found at this link,

http://www.wipo.int/about-wipo/en/dgo/dg_gurry_acceptance_speech_2008.html

HARRY POTTER v. HARI PUTTAR

2008-09-22T22:58:00.000-07:00

Warner Bros. have lost the case against the movie Hari Puttar: A Comedy of Terrors. The judge noted that the plaintiffs did not establish irreparable loss or damage that would be caused to them by the release of the film.

The timing of the suit was also brought into question and played major part in the decision as the suit was brought just before the release of the film. The judge remarked that the defendants had painstakingly put together the movie and the plaintiff's had not objected before. When they had reached the finishing line, the plaintiffs put up the objection thus trying to stop the defendants from completing their goal and to cross the finishing line. Their conduct is is diametrically opposed to the cardinal principle of vigilentibus non dormientibur enquitor and cannot be countenanced by a Court bound to take into consideration legal as well as equitable considerations.

The judge also made remarks to the effect that the audience would know the difference between the book and the movie as the stories are different and the viewer would in no way be confused.

The judge dismissed the above argument with the following comments:

E]ven assuming there is any structural or phonetic similarity in the words ‘Harry Potter’ and ‘Hari Puttar’, what has to be borne in mind is that the Harry Potter films are targeted to meet the entertainment needs of an elite and exclusive audience—the cognoscenti - an audience able to discern the difference between a film based on Harry Potter book on the one hand and a film which is a Punjabi comedy on the other, the chief protagonist of which is Hariprasad Dhoonda. It is not the case of a consumer good or product, which stands on an entirely different footing.

Necessarily, the yardstick must also differ bearing in mind the fact that a consumer product such as a soap or even a pharmaceutical product may be purchased by an unwary purchaser or even an illiterate one, but the possibility of an unlettered audience viewing a Harry Potter movie are remote to say the least. To put it differently an illiterate or semi-literate movie viewer in case he ventures to see a film by the name of Hari Puttar would never be able to relate the same with a Harry Potter film or book. Conversely, an educated person who has pored over or even browsed through a book on Harry Potter or viewed a Harry Potter film, is not likely to be misled. Such a person must be taken to be astute enough to know the difference between a Harry Potter film and a film entitled Hari Puttar, for, in my view, the cognoscenti, the intellectuals and even the pseudo-intellectuals presumably know the difference between chalk and cheese or at any rate must be presumed to know the same.

AUSTRALIAN IN COMMAND OF WIPO

2008-09-22T20:58:00.000-07:00

Member States of the World Intellectual Property Organization unanimously appointed Francis Gurry as the Organization's new Director General.

Mr. Gurry, an Australian national and 23-year veteran of WIPO, was appointed by unanimous acclamation at the opening of the Organization's annual Assemblies Monday morning. He succeeds Dr. Kamil Idris, who served as Director General since 1997.

The appointment by the General Assembly, WIPO's highest governing body, follows Mr. Gurry's nomination in May by the WIPO Coordination Committee.

TM DISPUTE ON MAAZA

2008-09-21T22:03:00.000-07:00

A major trademark battle is brewing between Bisleri and Coca-Cola over the use of the ‘Maaza’ trademark. ‘Maaza’ is one of India’s most popular mango based non-carbonated soft drinks. ‘Maaza’ was owned by the Chauhan family which at that time also owned other famous trademarks like Thums-Up, Rim-Zim, Goldspot, Limca and Citra. However when Coca-Cola entered the Indian market it bought out all five brands from the Chauhans. Coca-Cola had initially registered the ‘Maaza’ trademark in European countries so as to market the drink in those countries. However the Chauhan family which now owns Bisleri International claims that the agreement to hand over the ‘Maaza’ trademark to Coca-Cola was limited only to the Indian market and that Bisleri still has the international rights to the ‘Maaza’ trademark. The Hindu reports that Bisleri has in fact already entered into franchisee agreements with European companies and has started selling ‘Maaza’ in Europe. Since Coca-Cola’s move to register the Maaza trademark in Europe has directly threatened Bisleri’s commercial interests in Europe, they have sent a legal notice to Coca-Cola alleging that the initial agreement has been violated by Coca-Cola’s actions and have claimed upto $50 million dollars in damages for the alleged infringement

SPICY IP: Breaking "Scrabulous" News: Mattel Wins on Trademark Claim but Loses on Copyright

2008-09-19T01:42:00.000-07:00

SPICY IP: Breaking "Scrabulous" News: Mattel Wins on Trademark Claim but Loses on Copyright

SCRABBLE vs. SCRABULOUS

2008-09-18T21:24:00.003-07:00

Everyone knows the game SCRABBLE. We all would have played it sometime. Two brothers brought out an online version of it known as SCRABULOUS. The owners of scrabble filed a suit against them for violation of trademarks. The court came out with the decion in favour of SCRABBLE and ststed as follows:

(i)The defendants (Agarwala brothers) were restrained from using SCRABULOUS, SCRABBLE or any other deceptively similar trademark.

(ii) The brothers were also restrained from metatagging, hyperlinking or including the infringing trademarks in the source code of their websites.

(iii) The court disagreed with the argument of the defendants that the mark SCRABBLE was "generic" in nature and therefore could not be protected.

APEDA ACT AMENDED

2008-09-18T21:24:00.002-07:00

The union cabinet has approved the amendment to the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority Act (APEDA Act) vesting it with statutory authority for registration and protection of intellectual property rights or similar rights (including geographical indications) in the special product names in India and elsewhere.

According to the amendment, the registration of basmati rice, etc. as a geographical indication under the geographical indications of goods (registration and protection) act 1999 can be initiated and APEDA can effectively protect the geographical indication in India and abroad.

INCREASE IN PATENT APPLICATIONS

2008-09-18T21:24:00.001-07:00

According to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) and Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs), the filing of patent applications has increased from 4824 in the year 1999-2000 to 28,882 applications in the year 2006-2007. As against 8,010 trademark (TM) registrations in 1999-2000, 109,361 TMs were registered in 2006-07. Also, the filing of applications for design has increased from 2874 in 1999-2000 to 5372 in 2006-07.

GI STATUS FOR PASHMINA

2008-09-18T21:24:00.000-07:00

The GI Registry has granted GI status to Pashmina. This means that from now on all fine wool will not be known as Pashmina. Pashmina will be used only for that kind of wool which is made from the Pashmina goat in the Kashmir valley. The GI status was granted on Sep 12, 2008.

Pashmina is a kind of cashmere. Pashmina shawls are sold all over the world and the industry brings in around Rs 350- 360 crore for artisans in Kashmir.

Pakistan had filed an objection to the registration saying that they too produced the same kind of wool. A consultative committee set up for the purpose rejected the objection.

San DISK

2008-09-17T21:34:00.006-07:00

South Korea's Samsung Electronics has released to the public its letter sent on Sept. 16 to the board of directors at SanDisk (SNDK) expressing deep disappointment over a delay in its $5.85 billion cash offer for the U.S. flash memory-card maker.Shortly after Samsung disclosed the proposal, SanDisk issued a statement saying its board "unanimously rejects" the offer (although it did not rule out a deal at a better price.Samsung currently pays SNDK over $350 million a year in royalties to use patent flash technology. A takeover would result in reducing these costs and making use of SND's extensive knowledge in these fields.

HARRY POTTER

2008-09-17T21:34:00.004-07:00

A suit was filed by J.K. Rowling (author of Harry Potter series) and Times Warner against RDR Books for infringement of their Intellectual Property Rights. A website called Harry Potter Lexicon was created by Steven Jan Vander Ark, who is a librarian by profession. The lexicon lists characters, places, creatures, spells, potions and even a time line. The website is a very popular one among Harry Potter fans and Rowling had even given it an award as the best fan site. Mr. Vander Ark with the help of RDR Books decided to make a hard copy of the contents of the website. This induced Rowling along with Times Warner, who own the trade marks and copyright for Harry Potter file a case against RDR Books claiming that such a publication would hurt and infringe upon Rowling’s own copyright as she wanted to publish a lexicon of the same order in the near future.

The principle in law which is in question is the fair use doctrine, which allows the limited use of copyrighted material without requiring permission from the right holders. Has Mr. Vander Ark infringed upon the rights of Rowling?

The judge had ruled that Vander Ark had indeed infringed the rights of J.K. Rowling, thereby giving ruling the case in her favour. The matter seemed to have gone agisnt the defendents due the fact that a lot of material seems to have been copied verbatim by Vader Ark.

This judgement has created a serious precedent for derivative works as the original authors will try to stop people from publishing works based on the original content, thereby not recognising the work and labour of people who put in their own skill and labour to create derivate works. They too have rights and this must be recognised as well.

UNTRUE REPORTING

2008-09-17T21:34:00.003-07:00

Recently, a newspaper carried an Article stating that the “Tirupati ladoos would soon get patent rights under Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act”.

Ladoos can’t be patented. The idea is absolutely ludicrous. Patents can only be granted for inventions. Furthermore patents can’t be granted under the Geographical Indications of Goods Act. Geographical Indications of Goods refers to country or place of origin of a product.

This clearly shows careless reporting. The common man, from the above can clearly be confused as to the fact that Tirupati ladoos can be given patent protection, which is totally untrue.

Such reports must be carefully vetted before they are published. The help of experts in the fields should be taken before making such statements. This is urgently required to improve the standards of the articles being published.

INFOSYS

2008-09-17T21:34:00.002-07:00

Bangalore based, Infosys Technologies, recently made headlines, as they have been prohibited from carrying on their business in France under their trade name “INFOSYS”. A civil court in Boligny, France ruled that, the usage of the name ‘Infosys’ by the Indian Company constituted infringement of the trademark and corporate name of another Company “Infosys France”. Infosys Technologies has sought a stay order on the Civil Court’s decision and are planning on appealing against the ruling.

Several companies fail to realize how important it is for them to secure their intellectual property (IP), particularly their trade mark and more importantly their house mark in contemporary times. Expansion of market/services also means enhancement of goodwill and trade reputation. After the lifting of trade barriers, domestic companies have forayed into the international market in large numbers. Indian Companies, especially, the ones in the IT sector, capitalizing on the changed atmosphere, further fueled by liberalization of the Indian economy, have opened their business operations in various countries. But in that, what the companies have lost sight of is, securing their Intellectual Property Rights

The aforesaid event is just an eye opener. What happened today to Infosys Technologies may happen to any Indian Company tomorrow. Trade Marks are distinctive signs or indicators as to the origin of the products/services of Companies. Unscrupulous individuals hijack well known trade marks and pass off their goods as that of the original owner. To prevent this from happening, owners of a trademark have to secure it by registration

There is now a paradigm shift in trade. Indian Companies, as is the case with other global companies, are striving hard to enter into the international business areas or alternatively to safe guard their international businesses. Off late, big corporate houses of India, like the Tata, Reliance, and Videocon, to name a few, are in the process of consolidating and increasing their holdings through numerous global acquisitions and merger. In such a scenario, protection of Intellectual Property is of a great significance.

From the abovementioned debacle of Infosys, we expect that, the other Indian entrepreneurs would take the required measures, in securing their IP and avoid various unpleasant situations like the one being faced by the soft ware giant.

TRADE DRESS

2008-09-17T21:34:00.001-07:00

Trade Mark is a badge of origin, of the quality of the products, and thus helps the public in removing any confusion in their minds as regards to the source of the products. In contemporary times there has been an expansion in the scope of registered marks. Trade dress is a part of this expansion.

In India with the liberalization of the economy and India opening its doors on investment in any every sector, numerous foreign brands in FMCG sector are entering the Indian market. Therefore to distinguish goods from the competition, FMCG companies invest heavily not only on devising brand names but also on creating trade dress or packaging to act as identifiers.

Products have a personality. A key element of a products personality or brand image is its packaging. Trade dress consists not of words or symbols but of a products packaging.[1] In recent years the concept of trade dress has been expanded to encompass the design of a product.[2]

Trade dress involves the total image of a product and may include features such as shape, colour or colour combinations, textures, graphics or even particular sales techniques.[3]

Trade dress is of great importance as illiterate people get confused if there exists two products with similar trade dress. Illiterate people look at the colour, shape, image, textures etc of the product when they purchase it.

In the United Kingdom Trade dress is protected under the law of Passing Off. Passing Off is a common law remedy for protecting unregistered Trademarks. In the United States of America they can be registered under Section 2 of the Lanham Act and even without registration, a non functional, distinctive trade dress is protected under Section 43 (a) of the Lanham Act. The requisite conditions for registering a trade dress with the U.S Patent and Trademarks Office are that it should be -

1) inherently distinctive or has acquired secondary meaning and

2) is non functional.

In India the concept of trade dress is encompassed in the broad definition of Trade Mark. Under Section 2(m) of the Trademarks Act, 1999

“mark” includes a device, brand, heading, label, ticket, name, signature, word, letter, numeral, shape of goods, packaging or combination of colours or any combination thereof.

The definition above includes shape of goods packaging or combination of colours or any combination which are those elements which constitute the total image of a good or trade dress.

A landmark judgement of importance in India which deals with this concept in detail is that of Colgate Palmolive Co. v. Anchor Health and Beauty Care[4]. In this matter, an ad interim injunction restraining defendant(Anchor Health and Beauty Care) from use of trade dress and colour combination similar to that of plaintiff (i.e a red and white colour combination) was applied for. The Court held that the visual impression of product gives overall impression to customer as to origin of goods and if first glance of article gives impression as to deceptive similarities in respect of colour combination, getup etc. it is a case of confusion and that such similarities amounts to passing off one's own goods as those of another with a view to encash upon goodwill and reputation of latter.[5]

It was held by the Court that an ordinary consumer gets an overall impression of source/ origin of goods from colour combination, shape of the container, packaging etc. The court also opined that no party can have monopoly over a particular colour but if there is a substantial reproduction of the colour combination in the similar goods either on the container or packaging which over a period of time has been imprinted upon the minds of consumers, it is certainly liable to cause confusion but also dilution of distinctiveness of colour combinations.

In another matter of S.V.S. Oil Mills vs.S.V. N. Agro-refineries & another[6], the plaintiff firm was manufacturing and marketing various kinds of refined edible oils under the registered trade mark "SVS" with inverted triangle and a distinctive colour scheme and get up of red and yellow. The defendant, an erstwhile partner of plaintiff firm constituted another firm, which was in the same business, using same trademark "SVS" but with a different colour scheme, the Court held that,

"the material form, colour and getup of the wrapper or label or container of the articles are the physical means of expression and the design of the container or the label is of great significance as it is meant to catch the attention of any purchaser. The design of the label would include not only the trademark, but also the colour scheme and getup of the wrapper or container as well. It is well known that there are several eye-catching designs and the customers who are familiar with the articles would invariably be guided and attracted to purchase goods by the sight of label. There is a power behind the design of the label as the customers have the intuitive instinct to select the goods by the design, colour, getup and the trade name and if the goods of same kind, with the same colour scheme and getup in the labels belonging to two manufacturers with phonetic similarity in trade names are exhibited or offered for sale, a normal consumer of average intelligence with imperfect memory would take one article as belonging to other".

Thus from the above it is apparent that even though there exists no specific provision as regards trade dress, protection for the same is provided for in our country by the filing of a suit for passing off or a suit for the infringement of trademark.

Though this concept is a new one, it is a major part in determining the commercial success of a business enterprise and therefore its protection is of the utmost importance.

[1] Two Pesos vs. Taco Cabana Inc., 505 U.S. 763(1992)

[2] Wal-Mart Stores Inc. vs. Samara Bros. Inc., 120 S.Ct.1339(2000)

[3] John .H. Howard Co. vs. Clarke Checks Inc., 711 F2d 966 (11^th in 1983)

[4] 2003(27)PTC478(Del)

[5] Ibid

[6] 2004 (29) PTC 548 (Mad) (DB)]

ANALYSIS OF PROVISIONS OF THE COPYRIGHT AND DESIGNS

2008-09-17T05:23:00.000-07:00

There does exsist a concrete connection between Section 2(c), Section 15(2) of the Copyright Act, 1999 and Section 2(d) of the Designs Act, 2000 in India. An analysis of the same has been done with the help of case laws below.

artistic work" means,--

i. a painting, a sculpture, a drawing (including a diagram, map, chart or plan), an engraving or a photograph, whether or not any such work possesses artistic quality;

ii. an architectural work of art; and

iii. any other work of artistic craftsmanship

In the matter of Microfibres inc. v. Girdhar & Co. & Ors.[1], the plaintiff was the copyright owner of the artistic work vested in the Upholstery Fabric Design under the laws of the United States of America. They contented that the defendants were manufacturing and marketing upholstery fabric, which violated the plaintiff’s copyright under section 51 of the Copyright Act, 1957. It was held that in order for a work of art to qualify as an “artistic work”, it must fall within the definition of artistic work in Section 2 (c) of the Copyright Act.

Section 2(d) of the Designs Act, 2000 states:

"design" means only the features of shape, configuration, pattern, ornament or composition of lines or colours applied to any article whether in two dimensional or three dimensional or in both forms, by any industrial process or means, whether manual mechanical or chemical, separate or combined, which in the finished article appeal to and are judged solely by the eye; but does not include any mode or principle of construction or anything which is in substance a mere mechanical device, and does not include any trade mark as defined in clause (v) of sub-section (1) of Section 2 of the Trade and
Merchandise Marks Act, 1958 (43 of 1958) or property mark as defined in section 479 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) or any artistic work as defined in clause (c) of section 2 of the Copyright Act, 1957.o(14 of 1957)

It was also held that “the exclusion of artistic work as defined in Section 2 (c) of the Copyright Act from the definition of “design” under Section 2(d) of the Designs Act, 2000 is only meant to exclude the nature of artistic works like the paintings of M.F. Hussain. It is thus, the paintings, sculptures and such works of art which are sought to be specifically excluded from the new Act.

Copyright in any design, which is capable of being registered under the Designs Act, 1911 (2 of 1911), but which has not been so registered, shall cease as soon as any article to which the design has been applied has been reproduced more than fifty times by an industrial process by the owner of the copyright or, with his licence, by any other person.

In the case of Polymer Papers Ltd v. Gurmit Singh & Ors[2], it was held that since industrial drawings and designs for the purpose of manufacturing of filter related machines or components and as such clearly fell within the meaning of design as defined in the Designs Act, 2000. The underlying message of this judgment is that the claim of copyright in the industrial drawings which are being use or manufacturing purposes is not maintainable.

In the matter of Dart Industries Inc. & Anr. v. Techno Plast & Ors[3]., it was stated that once drawings are made for creating the ultimate product design, the copyright in the said drawings cannot be claimed under the Copyright Act. The underlying message is that copyright in the Industrial design is governed by the Designs Act, 2000. If a design is registered under that Act, it is not legible for protection under the Copyright Act. In such cases after the design is registered under the Designs Act, the protection given is not copyright protection but a true monopoly based on statute inasmuch as such designs were never protected by common law.

In the mater of Samsonite Corporation v. Vijay Sales[4], it was held that “whatever be the nature of the drawing the purpose and intention would be the relevant criterion to consider whether the drawings are designs.”

Thus, in conclusion one must look at the intention of the drawing or the purpose for which it is made before looking at whether copyright or design protection is applicable. This is of great importance as this would solve any controversies which section 15(2) may throw up. Drawing comes under the purview of copyrights but any drawing which is to be used for an industrial purpose comes under the purview of designs.

[1] 2006 (32) PTC 157 (Del.)

[2] 2002 (25) PTC 327(Del.)

[3] 2007 (35) PTC 129 (Del.)

[4] 1998 PTC (18) 372

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