NOPR Collection:

New Draft Patent (Amendment) Rules 2015 - Impact of Court Orders at the Indian Patent Office

Sun, 01 Nov 2015 00:00:00 GMT

Title: New Draft Patent (Amendment) Rules 2015 - Impact of Court Orders at the Indian Patent Office Authors: Wilson, Neeti Abstract: The Indian intellectual property scenario is developing at a very fast rate in India and one finds some or the other newspaper headline related to the same. This section is devoted to presenting the current Indian IP news in the limelight to keep the readers abreast of the latest trends. The spotlight for November 2015 is the draft Patent Amendment Rules proposed to expedite examination of patent applications and as directed by the courts and also several other procedural changes. Any comments or suggestions may be sent to IPneeti@outlook.com or neeti@anandandanand.com. Page(s): 411-412

Management of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer by Public Funded Research Organizations in India: A Case of CSIR

Sun, 01 Nov 2015 00:00:00 GMT

Title: Management of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer by Public Funded Research Organizations in India: A Case of CSIR Authors: Burhan, Muqbil; Jain, Sudhir K Abstract: This study analyses the patents filed and technologies licensed by network of Indian laboratories under world’s one of the largest Public Funded Research Organization (PFRO) - Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR). A case study approach is followed based on secondary data collected from annual reports of CSIR laboratories, official websites, government data repositories and through Right to Information (RTI) applications filed (under RTI Act 2005, Government of India). The study analyzes various characteristics of patents filed and technologies licensed by CSIR laboratories and, using grounded theory approach, substantiated the analysis with existing literature to enhance robustness. It was attempted to establish relation between Extra Budgetory Resources generated, patents filed and technologies transferred by CSIR laboratories. Page(s): 398-410

Effective Applicability of Sections 65A and 65B of Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012 using Case Study of Digital Watermarks

Sun, 01 Nov 2015 00:00:00 GMT

Title: Effective Applicability of Sections 65A and 65B of Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012 using Case Study of Digital Watermarks Authors: Chakraverty, Prateek Abstract: With increasing utilization of Technological Protection Measures (TPMs) to protect digital copyrighted works, legislative changes to counter their misuse become necessary. With this objective, Sections 65A and 65B of the Indian Copyright (Amendment) Act 2012 were introduced. Section 65A delineates the Anti-Circumvention Law for effective TPMs while Section 65B protects the associated Rights Management Information. Several digital watermarking techniques are widely used for different kinds of protection to digital images, video, audio, databases, websites and e-books. The “effectiveness” of digital watermarks is prone to subjective assessment, not only because of their sheer variety in types, techniques and applications but also due to rapid technological advancements that continuously reshape the standard of “effectiveness”. Given this malleability, a case-case analysis of “effectiveness” may involve expert technical knowledge that is beyond legalese, thereby inviting miscalculation in justice due to subjectivity. In this paper, the scope and remedies for effective legal applicability of the aforementioned provisions in the light of certain grey areas are discussed. These include lack of a specific standard of “effectiveness” and invitation of corresponding technical excesses, skewed quantum of punishment, and the need to bring into ambit certain transformations that can lead to infringement without violating existing laws. Page(s): 388-397

Need for Government Intervention in Regulating Seed Sale Price and Trait Fee: A Case of Bt Cotton

Sun, 01 Nov 2015 00:00:00 GMT

Title: Need for Government Intervention in Regulating Seed Sale Price and Trait Fee: A Case of Bt Cotton Authors: Manjunatha, B L; Rao, D U M; Dastagiri, M B; Sharma, J P; Burman, R Roy Abstract: Seeds Bill 2004 is not yet enacted (into an Act), even ten years after its first introduction in the parliament. This study was aimed at finding the opinion of various stakeholders on three most contentious issues which have stalled the bill, viz., regulation of sale price of seed, regulation of trait/royalty fee and granting state governments the powers to regulate seed prices. The study was conducted in Andhra Pradesh (AP) and Bihar states covering 240 farmers and 30 respondents each from researchers, Agriculture Department Officials (ADOs), Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), Private Seed Companies (PSCs) and seed dealers with a total sample size of 390. The farmers, CSOs, ADOs, researchers and seed dealers strongly demanded for regulation of retail price and trait/royalty fee over seeds by state governments, especially in case of hybrids and proprietary technologies such as Bt cotton. PSCs held a view that only market forces (demand and supply of seeds) and farmers’ preferences should determine the sale price of seed. However, market forces did not operate in case of Bt cotton seed market because of monopoly market conditions. All the Bt cotton cultivars approved for commercial cultivation were hybrids developed by PSCs. Out of all the Bt. cotton cultivars in market, 88% of them have been developed using two genes patented by Mahyco-Monsanto Biotech (MMB). PSCs charged royalty fee as high as 67 per cent of retail price of Bt cotton seeds until government intervention. The monopoly of MMB was attributed to economic and legal barriers for competitors and deliberate action of misinformation on legal patent rights. Farmers had no choice of non-Bt cotton hybrids or traditional varieties. Based on the study, it is suggested that regulation of retail price and trait/royalty fee of seed is scientific under monopoly market conditions for proprietary technologies involving royalty component. Page(s): 375-387