Tuesday, September 30, 2008
HARI PUTTAR
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
Sunday, September 28, 2008
HEARING OF FIRST PRODUCT PATENT OPPOSITION
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?
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
The EPO has just announced that the Patent Prosecution Highway
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
ARRIVAL OF INTELLECTUAL VENTURES LLC
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)
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.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
WIPO DIRECTOR-GENERAL SPEECH
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,
Monday, September 22, 2008
HARRY POTTER v. HARI PUTTAR
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
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.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
TM DISPUTE ON MAAZA
A major trademark battle is brewing between Bisleri and Coca-Cola over the use of the ‘Maaza’ trademark. ‘Maaza’ is one of
Friday, September 19, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
SCRABBLE vs. SCRABULOUS
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.
(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
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
INCREASE IN PATENT APPLICATIONS
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
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
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
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
San DISK
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
1) inherently distinctive or has acquired secondary meaning and
2) is non functional.
In
“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.
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.
ANALYSIS OF PROVISIONS OF THE COPYRIGHT AND DESIGNS
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
Section 2 (c) of the Copyright Act, 1999 states:
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
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.
Section 15(2) of the Copyright Act, 1999 states:
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.
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