Happy New IP Year

The calendar year 2011 is coming to an end. It's been a rough year for markets. Between the unrest and disruptions associated with the Arab Spring to the ongoing sovereign debt crises in Europe, crisis rocked the markets most part of the year. However, an encouraging factor is the development of intellectual property across the world, which might fuel the economic growth in coming years.

In the year 2011, we noticed reasonable increase in patent filings across the world. China grabbed first place in list of countries with most patent filings in the year 2011, surpassing United States, which gives a indication that companies are keen on investing in intellectual property in Asia. From a quick search in total patents, I found that total number of patent application published/ granted in the year 2011 has increased to 9, 01,723 from 7, 87,733(in the year 2010), approximately 14% rise from the previous year which is an encouraging sign. Further, as per a recent report, number of published patent applications from China is expected to be around 500,000 by 2015, followed by the United States with close to 400,000 and Japan with almost 300,000.

Further, a report from USPTO says that the backlog of patent applications is reduced by 10 percent from previous years. This is a considerable achievement, considering the fact that patent application filings show an average growth of 5 percent every year for the last couple of years.

Further, the report says that USPTO has processed 257,642 of the oldest pending applications in the backlog, exceeding its FY2011 goal by more than 20,000 applications. The emerging strategy of investing in intellectual property adopted by companies across the world is a very positive indication for the future of the economy, despite the way the economy is perceived right now.

I hope 2012 is a year of great happiness and success. Have a wonderful new year!

Author: Nirmal

Source:

http://www.legallanguage.com/legal-articles/patent-application-backlog-drops

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/270884/20111221/china-tops-u-s-japan-become-

top.htm

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Happy New Year!!!

As the new year unfolds Team Brain League wishes all its readers a happy and prosperous new year 2012 !!!

May this year be filled with joy, prosperity and happiness.

We wish all our readers a great year ahead.   


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Most popular 'Interesting patents' posts in 2011

2011 is coming to an end and its time for us to thank all the contributors of SiNApSE blog who have provided some really interesting and insightful posts throughout the year. We would also like to thank our readers who have kept the SiNApSE team motivated to continue on its journey of spreading IP awareness in India.

About 600 posts were made in 2011. In a series of posts over the next few days, we will be showcasing some of the most popular posts of 2011; starting with the most popular ‘Interesting patents’ posts.

7. Cooling cricketers for hot Indian weather

14 participants, 3 hosts and 49 matches. Biggest and most awaited cricket tournament ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 edition kick started in style on 19th February 2011 in Sher-e-Bangla national stadium, Bangladesh. The cricket fans all over the world are celebrating the event. With a strong Line Up, Indians are the clear favorites. Moreover this is said to be the last world cup of many cricket maestros along with the “God of Cricket - Sachin Tendulkar” topping the list. (...read more)

6. Are You Ready for an Evening Walk on Water?

We generally use the phrase “Walking on water”,  to refer to a miracle or accomplishing something nearly impossible. But if we consider the literal meaning of it, is it really possible to walk on water? A lot of people dream of walking on water and infact some have walked on water either in reality or as an illusion or miracle. After Lord Ram performed the feat, Leonardo da Vinci in 15th Century sketched how a man can walk on water. Since then, numerous inventions have come up to turn this dream into reality by enabling man to walk on water. According to Christianity, St. Peter actually walked on water but he started to drown as soon as he lost his concentration. (... read more)

5. Speed Guns and Fast Bowlers

In earlier days, Cricket was considered a gentlemen's game but not anymore. Nowadays, we see a  lot of rivalry between the teams like India v/s Pakistan, Australia v/s England. To win the match of rivalry, players employ different game strategies such as Bodyline bowling strategy adopted by England against Australia in famous Ashes series 1932-33 series. Fast bowlers were the main part of this strategy to counter exceptional batting skill of Sir Don Bradman. Since then, express bowlers have been holding a special place in cricket. (...read more)

4. Cricket - A Batsman's Game (Mangoose Bat Patent)

Nowadays, cricket is believed to be a batsman’s game. When people start playing cricket, they usually prefer to try their hands on batting more than bowling and fielding.

This passion towards batting is one of the main reasons why today cricket pitches are mostly flat and batsman friendly. The international cricketers are no exception and they have tried various things with their bat to improve their batting performance, some of them were also in the midst of controversies. (...read more)

3. Rain Ball for uninterrupted Cricket Games

Every cricket fan around the world must be enjoying cricket’s biggest festival -World Cup 2011. If we look at the cricket calendar, we come to know that the number of cricket matches played nowadays has increased staggeringly.  Cricket is played throughout the year in different forms i.e. Test, ODI, 20-20 and so on. Due to this some of the cricket tournaments have to be scheduled during monsoon time as well. Rain has  always been an invincible force against cricket game.  Cricket is considered as a religion in India having vast followers, and any washout of a cricket match results in a pandemonium among the cricket crazy fans. (... read more) 

2. Burning the Fuel through Internal Combustion

In 1885, Karl Benz built the first automobile with internal combustion engine and received German patent (37435) (1886). IC Engines were however were invented and placed in practical use by Nicolaus Otto, who invented Otto cycle in the year 1850. Production vehicles based on this design were then sold in 1888, and thus the automobile industry was born. (...read more)

1. Gripping Victory in a Cricket Match (Patent Over Cricket Bat Accessory)

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 is round the corner and as a cricket-crazy nation every Indian cricket fan anticipates that India will redo the magic of 1983 and will lift the world cup this time.

Every world cup held left some memorable moments with us. Kapil Dev running backwards to take a great catch to dismiss Vivian Richards in 1983, Ajay Jadeja hitting Pakistani pacer Waquar Younis for as many as 40 runs in two successive overs, Venkatesh Prasad dismissing Aamir Sohail in the very next ball after Aamir Sohail sledged him in 1996 and Adam Gilchrist’s batting glove controversy, where he used a half cut squash ball in his batting gloves to improve batting grip in the final of cricket world cup 2007, are some of them. (...read more)

Interesting to note that majority of the most popular posts related to cricket. With the world cup in India and the Indian team winning the cup, cricket undoubtedly ruled the mind of the nation.

"Move your domain" day: SOPA under attack

This is in furtherance of my earlier post related to Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). Despite heated arguments and debates, the Bill has made it way to the Congress discussions scheduled for January. On one side we have the content creators and the Hollywood industry demanding for a strong legislation to combat online piracy that is mushrooming everyday, while on the other, there are giant internet companies including Google and twitter, who have their own versions against imposing stringent measures on the internet steaming platforms. Given the fact that these internet companies make a hefty contribution towards the economy, their interests and concerns cannot be totally done away with. One of the strong arguments raised by them is that incorporating stringent mechanism with respect to online streaming is a negation to right to free speech and expression. They further claim that the provisions of the SOPA are too broad and could result in less innovation.

Another interesting, rather surprising fact is that GoDaddy, a domain registrar has expressed its support for the Bill, despite strong difference of opinion from its users expressing their disapproval. Some of the users have even started boycotting the company by moving their domain to other registrars. December 29th is being observed as “move your domain” day on account of several users shifting their domains to other service providers. However, GoDaddy maintains it stand and refuses to budge. The company has even written to House Judiciary Committee expressing its support. Apparently, GoDaddy is the only domain registrar favoring the legislation, with all other companies against it.

With internet giants against the proposed law on one side, and Hollywood’s pressure and demand for a strong and efficient legislation on the other, it’s going to be a tuff time for the Congress this New Year.

Author: Aruna Mukundd
 
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Patent loss ruins Oracle's New Year party

Database giant Oracle faced a major setback in the patent litigation against Google, with USPTO rejecting some claims of patent (US6192476) which is one among the several patents that Oracle asserts against Google.

Oracle sued Google last year, claiming that the Google Android operating system uses Java Virtual machine technology and it violates a number of Java patents it acquired along with Sun Microsystems.

Google on the other hand requested the USPTO to re-examine the Oracle patent (US6192476) titled as "Controlling access to a resource”. Last week, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rejects 17 claims out of 21 claims in patent (US6192476) and it basically means that the patent is invalid since many of the claims have been rejected. Oracle now has six months to appeal for the USPTO's decision. If it fails, then Oracle will probably be stripped of the patent.

"Patents were meant to encourage innovation, but lately they are being used as a weapon to stop it” opined Google's chief legal officer David Drummond.

 

Author: Raghu

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Database on patents granted for Indian bio – resources.

Unit for Research and Development of Information Products (URDIP), which is a specialised wing of India's Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) with the support of the National Bio-resource Development Board (NBDB) has created a Database on patents granted for Indian bio – resources.

National Bio-resource Development Board as a part of it programme on digital inventory of plant resources of India has created Indian Bioresources Information Network (IBIN) which is will be serving as a national database infrastructure offering information on diverse aspects of bio-resources of the country. As per the reports, this portal is expected to be launched by August 2012.

In the process of development of this portal, URDIP has come up with a database of patents granted to Indian bio-resources. This database has a collection of all the patents granted world- wide for food crops, forest trees, marine organisms, microbial resources, livestock, other animals and agro-resources.

The bio-resources screened by URDIP includes 269 species of Food crops and other agri-resources, 112 species of Forest resources, 24,336 species of Livestock and other animals, 1,841 species of marine life and 13,596 species of microbial resources.

Apart from this, URDIP has also created a database of five hundred Indian plants on which around 12,000 patents have been issued.

Another database on patent on aromatic, medicinal and economic plants has already been created and is being extended to bio-resources for the IBIN portal.

The main aim in creating these databases is to network and promote an open ended, co-evolutionary growth among all the digital databases related to biological resources of the country and to add value to the databases by integration.

Creating such database helps integrate all the available information for the end users involved in various bio – resources related activities including protecting bio-piracy and conservation of bio - resources.

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Yahoo's Search Patent Refusal

The Indian Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) has upheld the refusal of a patent filed by a unit of Yahoo, Overture Services. The patent relates to searching in computer networks. The patent application was opposed by Rediff and was refused by the Controller.

Aggrieved by the refusal, Yahoo filed an appeal to IPAB, which initially denied the appeal stating that the decision of the Controller under Section 25(1) (Pre-Grant Representation) was not appealable. Yahoo challenged the denial before the Madras High Court, which held that the refusal by Controller amounts to rejection under Section 15 making it appealable to IPAB. The IPAB thereafter accepted the appeal and has now upheld the refusal based on lack of patentability. Our colleague Som Shekar will write a detailed note on the order of IPAB shortly.

Contributed by Dr. Kalyan

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TATA Diamonds Must Pay

Unjustly enriching from the reputation of a well known mark is not new. Tata group is a famous company in the world with the well known mark TATA with more than 100 industries and out of which 50 of them use the word and the mark TATA. Recently the Tatas, plaintiff, filed a case in the Delhi High Court against one Mr. Hoop Anin, defendant, alleging that the mark 'Tata Diamonds' and the domain 'www.tatadiamonds.com' infringe their trade mark. It was argued that the mark 'Tata Diamonds' creates confusion and deception in the minds of the consumer as the mark uses the word “Tata”, which is phonetically, visually and structurally similar to the famous mark, TATA. In addition to injunction, the TATA group prayed for transfer of domain name and damages.

After reviewing the evidence on record, the Court held that the mark, TATA, is a well known mark. It considered the following to arrive at the said decision:

• TATA is being used for more than 100 years in respect of large goods and services;
• Tata Group is the oldest and the largest industrial and business conglomerate in India having many companies and millions of consumers across the globe;
• There are hundreds of trade mark registrations containing the mark, TATA; and
• Many judgements had earlier held the mark as famous.

The court then pointed out that the use of the trademark TATA in relation to any goods or services is likely to be taken as a connection between house of TATAs and the goods or services, which were sold under this trademark. The court also noted that the plaintiff is entitled to injunction against use of the mark “TATA” by the defendant for two reasons firstly because of “TATA” being a registered trademark in Class-14 in respect of jewelry and precious metals and secondly because of “TATA” being a well known mark. As per the court, Mere suffixing the words “Diamond” with “Tata” would not put the defendant out of the purview of infringement. As the defendant did not respond to the suit, the court assumed that the trade mark usage was mala fide and aimed at taking advantage of the good will of TATA in an undue manner. In addition to granting a permanent injunction, the court also granted punitive damages to the tune of five lakhs.

Image from here

Authored by:Sayantani

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Kajal's Right of Publicity Prevails

Kajal is a popular telugu film actress. She rose to prominence through her performances in movies such as Magadheera, Brindavanam, Mr. Perfect and Darling. She also performed a lead role in the Hindi movie Singham. In 2008, Kajal signed an agreement with M/s. V.V.D. & sons, Respondent, to endorse hair oil and coconut oil products. The agreement was signed for use of Kajal's profile in photographs and videos in print, internet and other media to promote the products for one year. The Respondent continued to use the videos and photographs even after the expiry of the agreement and Kajal filed a case before the Madras High Court praying for an interim injunction

.

After reviewing the agreement, the single judge held that the Respondent has the right to use the video film for promoting the products because it holds copyrights in the work. However, with respect to the photographs and other profile of Kajal, the single judge passed an interim order prohibiting their use in print, internet and other media. Aggrieved by the order, Kajal appealed to the Division Bench.

The Division Bench agreed that the Respondent holds copyrights in the videos but pointed out that copyright ownership does not permit the company to use the video for promotional purposes. The relevant para is provided hereunder.

"21. The underlying idea of commercial advertisements/ video film is to promote the product of the manufacturer/promoter. The manufacturer/promoter employs a model/actress and uses their profile for endorsing their products and thereby aiming to increase their marketing. While so doing, the manufacturer/promoter acquired limited right of using the reputation of the actress/model. In the advertisement films, though video is taken, ultimately, it is the reputation of the actor/model, which is exploited as per the terms of the contract. The manufacturer/marketing agency has no right to continue the use of picture/profile of the actress/model after the expiry of the period of contract."

The Court pointed out that the Respondent does not have any right to use Kajal's persona for any advertising or promotional purposes as that would injure her publicity rights and reputation. As per the Court, use of Kajal's persona by the Respondents is likely to cause confusion among the public, which will have a direct impact on advertising and endorsement prospects of Kajal. It also pointed out that irreparable harm would be caused to Kajal if interim order is not granted as it is difficult to assess damages caused to her. As balance of convenience is also in Kajal's favour, the Court granted an interim injunction against the use of her persona for promotion of the Respondent's products.

This is primarily a case of publicity rights and the court rightly differentiated between copyright and publicity rights of a celebrity. In my opinion, the copyright issue was not relevant in the case and it is only a matter of publicity rights. Irrespective of IP ownership in advertising materials or content, no person will have the right to use a celebrity's persona beyond the term permitted by the celebrity. Such a usage will violate the publicity rights of the celebrity and cause confusion among the consumers.

Authored by Dr. Kalyan and Priyanka.

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Trade Marking the Goddess of Sabarimala of Women

Attukal Bhagavathy Temple, situated in Trivandrum, Kerala is famous for the Pongala Festival that is organized every year during February- March. Millions of women from the length and breath of the state throng the temple to participate in the festival and offer their prayers to the deity. ‘Pongala’ is a sweet made from rice and jaggery. It is believed that Attukal deity is incarnation of Goddess Parvathi. The peculiar aspect of this festival is that only women are allowed to take part and offer Pongala to the deity. It is indeed an unbelievable sight to see millions of women offer Pongala in roads, temple surroundings, courtyards etc in the scorching sun. Aptly this temple has been described as “Sabarimala of Women.” The temple also has to its credit the Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of women in the world.

In 2009, the Attukal Bhagavathy Temple Trust (hereinafter referred to as Trust) filed for Trademark Registration for protecting the deity picture and the appellation “Sthreekalude Sabarimala,” which means Sabarimala of Women. The Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks accepted the application and granted registration stating that the applicant’s marks have acquired distinctiveness in relation to their activities as a result of long uninterrupted use. The trust had filed a trademark application claiming that it wanted to protect "temple services, social services, welfare services and cultural activities". The Trust sought protection in order to prevent the unauthorized use of the deity picture and the title. The Trust also alleged that many temples have started organizing Pongala Festival, which was earlier organized only by the Attukal Temple. As a result, people are likely to be deceived, which may in turn decrease the number of women who come from far off places to take part in the festival. Pursuant to the grant of registration, there arose umpteen debates and difference of opinions on the question whether activities of a temple, which are intended to be of a charitable nature, could be equated to commercial activity. Aggrieved by the grant of registration, RS Praveen Raj, a scientist working for Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) filed a Public Interest Litigation before the Hon’ble High Court, Kerala. The decision on the matter is yet to come. The sensitive nature of granting trademark to a deity and its far reaching consequences can be summed up as follows:

1. The intention of the Trust by registering the trademark is purely to exclude others from using the mark. The temple being popular across the state, it would be an easy task to prove that the mark is well known. And we all know if a mark attains the status of a well known mark, the proprietor will have the right to exclude others from using the said mark under all classes. This may place a restraint upon the street vendors or roadside shops that manufacture agarbattis, camphor etc with the deity’s picture on their products. They will be forced to take a license from the trust before they use the deity’s picture for any purpose whatsoever.

2. Secondly, can trademarks be granted to a deity picture, because it is likely to hurt the religious sentiments of the public? Section 9(2)(b) of the Trademark Act, 1999 lays down absolute grounds for refusal of trademarks, that includes marks that are likely to affect the religious sentiments come within its ambit. Taking this fact into consideration, can the Controller be justified of its decision to grant the trademark?

3. To quote from Praveen Raj’s argument “If this picture continues to be registered and another person (can be from some other religion also), may apply for a Trademark by modifying any part of the picture with some other expressions which are not auspicious. As per law, trademark registry will have to grant a trademark on that, as it would be "distinctive" and "not deceptive"

4. Trademark is granted to protect ones goods from those of another. The motive behind trademark registration, needless to say is commercial benefit. That being the case, the trademark registration on picture of a deity may pave may for assumptions that the Temple Trust administers the temple for a profit motive.

The above mentioned concerns form a small portion of the forthcoming consequences of grant of trademark registration to picture of a deity. The trade mark registration will hopefully be cancelled but what worries me the most is the commercial approach of places of worship. It seems that IP awareness in India has gone a little too far. GI controversy with respect to Tirupati Laddu is another example.

Image from here

Authored by Ms. Aruna Mukundd

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Sinapse IP Review (19-12-2011 to 27-12-2011)

Patent Recap

Christmas deLIGHT Its December! month of the holy festival Christmas. Whole world has geared up for the big celebrations. Christmas is celebrated as traditional birthday of Jesus Christ, the central figure of Christianity. Christmas trees, Christmas lights, Christmas Carol, Christmas cakes and so on are some inherent parts of Christmas celebration. The focus of my blog is on Christmas lights. The tradition of Christmas lights was started by the people who lived in the 17th century. They used to attach small candles to branches of the Christmas trees using wax or pins. But there was a risk of fire in this method... Happy Feet A 64-year-old Richland woman named Guadalupe Olvera recently received a U.S. patent for her idea on foot-and-toes dryer device that will help those with diabetes and other patients. Guadalupe Olvera said that she was able to obtain the patent because of help and encouragement from teachers at Pasco’s Columbia Basin College, close friends and her faith in God. The patent involved here is United States Patent No. 8065814, titled “Foot drying device”, issued by USPTO on 29th November 2011. The invention relates to an improved drying device for human feet, and more particularly to a drying device for directing air flow between the toes and to the bottom of a patient's feet… Mission Impossible: Neo Protocol After exploring patent options to restrain Neo's scope of eatables, we are yet again banking on patents to put him in order. Neo's unruly behaviour with friends and two wheelers prompted us to hit the patent databases to search for methods of training and disciplining him. As he is a dog with extra-ordinary skill in mischief, the traditional training techniques and other prior arts have utterly failed to show efficacy and a training method in a US patent caught our attention... You will soon start ‘Googling’ your car too! To have a car that drives itself across the crowded Indian streets has been every driver’s fantasy, I’m sure. This may soon turn into reality thanks to Google’s new technology for which the USPTO has recently granted a patent. The patent is titled ‘Transitioning a mixed-mode vehicle to autonomous mode’ and involves a car that allows someone to sit in the passenger seat as the car drives for them. It contains a method to switch a vehicle from a human-controlled mode into the state where it takes charge of the wheel. You can read more about the patent here. The car was first disclosed in October 2010, when it was in its advanced stages of development… Hands Free Smoking Everybody has heard about the ill-effects of smoking and the diseases caused by smoking the cigarette. Even though it is mentioned on the cigarette packet that ‘Smoking kills’ or ‘smoking is injurious to health’ still the number of smokers are increasing every day. When I see any person smoking, the thought that always comes in my mind is why they are still smoking even after seeing the warning on the packet of cigarette. Literally, I laughed when I found a patent application which helps smokers to carry their cigarette in a stylish manner.

Copyright Recap

Pay license fees before you party! Looks like the Phonographic Performance Ltd (PPL) will not let the star hotels, restaurants and clubs to have their melodic parties this festive season before it gets its dues. PPL has filed a petition before the Mumbai High Court seeking a direction against the five star hotels, restaurants and clubs not to play music on the New Year eve for the parties till they pay licence fees to the copyright society. PPL claims that most of the star hotels and clubs have organised for parties and have started collecting the entry fees from people. Hence, they must pay licence fees to PPL if they play music on which PPL has copyright… Public Domain Dedication of Works As I had pointed out in my earlier posts, creative commons aims to make works available to the public for enrichment of free culture. It has towards this end created an instrument entitled, CC0 1.0 Universal, for enabling authors to dedicate works to the public domain. By making a work available under the instrument, an author waives all copyrights and related rights in the work. The work forms part of the public domain and any person is free to use the work in any manner. Both commercial and non-commercial use of the work is permitted. The author's name cannot be used for publicity or endorsement and the author does not give any warranty with respect to a work under this instrument… Government Circular to Curb Piracy The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India has issued a circular dated 14th December 2011, requesting the Indian television and Film Industry to cooperate in curbing the menace of piracy. The Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has produced two short video clips (30 seconds and 60 seconds) to educate the consumers about the ill effects of piracy. These clips are made available in eleven different languages. The Ministry has directed the distributors and the cinema theatres to screen the clips provided by FICCI, before exhibiting the movie each time… YouTube Rightsflow acquisition : More Viewership with right against exploitation?! Online video broadcasting giant YouTube officially announced that it acquired Rights Flow; a firm extending services ranging from copyright licensing to commercialization of works online. Rights flow, based in New York is a firm which offers services ranging from granting licenses and management of rights over music in digital format. "We're pleased to now be taking a momentous step with the team at YouTube, that shares in our vision of solving the really challenging problem of copyright management…

Trademark Recap

No more ‘Master Chef’ for Star? The Additional District and Sessions Judge in Mumbai has restrained Star from using the mark ‘Master Chef’ for any of its programmes being aired on Star Plus and Star World for its reality shows Master Chef India, Australia and USA. There has been an order restraining them for using, telecasting or publishing the mark till January 6thwhen the next hearing is fixed. This exparte order was declared when a Mumbai based company, namely, Wings Entertainment Ltd. claimed Master Chef to be their registered trademark… The Hang Over of IP Cases Continues Using counterfeited Louis Vuitton bag in few scenes of the movie, Hangover II has brought the popular film studio, Warner Bros into IP trouble once again. The famous luxury travel company, Louis Vuitton has filed a suit against Warner Bros. for the alleged use of counterfeited handbags, trunks etc in few scenes of the movie. Louis Vuitton alleges that the movie shows Louis Vuitton trunks, hard-sided luggage and two Keepall travel bags on a dolly pushed by a porter on airport bearing LVM marks (trademarks of Louis Vuitton) in one of the scenes. Louis Vuitton states that the Keepall bags are part of its iconic series of bags and are well associated with the company for longest period of time… BBM sends a ‘strong message’ to BlackBerry After the trademark infringement case with BBX, RIM has another case at hand. A Toronto based company named BBM Canada have filed a case of trademark infringement against them for use of the trademark BBM. They are a company which provide broadcast measurement and consumer behaviour data and also industry-leading intelligence to broadcasters and advertisers. The problem they face at the moment is that their offices and employees are being mistaken for RIM employees and have been receiving several calls to fix problems or activate services relating to BBM.. Inebriated @ 8 In a very recent decision of the Delhi High Court in the case of Carlsberg India Pvt. Ltd. v. Radico Khaitan (decided on 20th December, 2011), a division bench revisited the ever debated question of trademark rights in numbers. A quick glance over the facts reveals that Radico has been the registered proprietor of the trademark '8 PM' for whisky and other liquor. In February, 2011, Carlsberg launched Beer under the mark 'Palone 8' and as a result was sued by Radico (detailed analysis of the facts and earlier order of the Single Judge can be read here)….

General

India IP and Innovation Forum 2012 Managing IP and SiNApSe blog invite you to the inaugural India IP & Innovation Forum on February 28, 2012 at Regency Hyatt Hotel, New Delhi. The forum provides the best platform for IP counsel, their advisers and leading officials to meet and debate the latest legal issues and practical strategies for IP owners in India, from patent prosecution to portfolio management strategies… Pharmaceutical and Biopharma Intellectual Property Conference by CPHI CPHi (Convention on Pharmaceutical Ingredients) is organizing a conference on pharmaceutical and bio-pharma intellectual property industry from 31 January to 2 February 2012. As India is fast emerging as one of the strongest markets in the global pharma industry, this conference brings critical issues to the forefront and will help the attendees find answers to the intellectual property concerns. The conference is spread across three days, where first day focuses on Indian perspective and the other two days provide international perspectives. The speakers are top management professionals from leading global and Indian pharmaceutical and biosciences companies…

Pay license fees before you party!

Looks like the Phonographic Performance Ltd (PPL) will not let the star hotels, restaurants and clubs to have their melodic parties this festive season before it gets its dues. PPL has filed a petition before the Mumbai High Court seeking a direction against the five star hotels, restaurants and clubs not to play music on the New Year eve for the parties till they pay licence fees to the copyright society. PPL claims that most of the star hotels and clubs have organised for parties and have started collecting the entry fees from people. Hence, they must pay licence fees to PPL if they play music on which PPL has copyright.

The High Court has adjourned the matter to 28th December, 2011 and has asked PPL to serve notice to the respondents.

PPL is a registered Copyright Society which deals with sound recordings. PPL holds copyright of over 250 music companies in India.

Copyright Societies

Section 33 of the Indian Copyright Act provides for registration of Copyright Societies. A copyright society is a registered collective administration society. These Societies are normally formed by copyright owners. A minimum membership of seven is required for registration of such a society. Generally, only one society is registered to do business in respect of the same class of work.

The main functions of the Copyright Society are to:

i. Issue licences in respect of the rights administered by the society.

ii. Collect fees in pursuance of such licences.

iii. Distribute such fees among owners of copyright after making deductions for the administrative expenses.

Lately the Court has granted the Copyright Societies the right to sue on behalf of their members for Copyright Violations. (PPL v. Hotel Gold Regency, decided in March 2009 by Delhi High Court)

Some of the registered Copyright Societies in India are Society for Copyright Regulation of Indian Producers for Film and Television (SCRIPT), The Indian Performing Right Society Limited (IPRS) and Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL).

Image from here

News Source: www.moneycontrol.com

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No more ‘Master Chef’ for Star?

The Additional District and Sessions Judge in Mumbai has restrained Star from using the mark ‘Master Chef’ for any of its programmes being aired on Star Plus and Star World for its reality shows Master Chef India, Australia and USA. There has been an order restraining them for using, telecasting or publishing the mark till January 6^thwhen the next hearing is fixed

This exparte order was declared when a Mumbai based company, namely, Wings Entertainment Ltd. claimed Master Chef to be their registered trademark. When they noticed in October 2010 that Star was using their mark, they sent them a cease and desist notice dated 12^th October, 2010 to which they didn’t receive any response and Star continued to use the mark for its television shows. Wings Entrainment therefore filed a case for trade mark infringement and got a preliminary order in their favour.

Contributed by Ms. Nikita, student, ILS Pune.

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The Hang Over of IP Cases Continues

Using counterfeited Louis Vuitton bag in few scenes of the movie, Hangover II has brought the popular film studio, Warner Bros into IP trouble once again. The famous luxury travel company, Louis Vuitton has filed a suit against Warner Bros. for the alleged use of counterfeited handbags, trunks etc in few scenes of the movie. Louis Vuitton alleges that the movie shows Louis Vuitton trunks, hard-sided luggage and two Keepall travel bags on a dolly pushed by a porter on airport bearing LVM marks (trademarks of Louis Vuitton) in one of the scenes. Louis Vuitton states that the Keepall bags are part of its iconic series of bags and are well associated with the company for longest period of time.

Louis Vuitton further cites usage of the said Keepall handbag, bearing famous LVM mark of Louis Vuitton, in the next scene, where one of the character sits in the airport lounge and places the said Keepall bag next to him. Another character moves the bag in a while and the first character warns him saying, "Careful that is...that is a Louis Vuitton". Louis Vuitton claims that handbag used in the said movie scene is not produced, sold or distributed by Louis Vuitton and is a disingenuous copy made by a Chinese company, which falsely represents their products as genuine Louis Vuitton products bearing Louis Vuitton marks and that an infringement action against them is pending in the Court.

Louis Vuitton states that by using or rather misusing the infringing bags in the movie and expressly misrepresenting that the bag is a Louis Vuitton bag, Warner Bros. has created a confusion in the minds of the general public, making them believe that company has authorized the use of fake handbag in the movie and that the said handbag is a genuine product of Louis Vuitton, which it is not.

The luxury travel company also provides that it had widely publicized the initiation of case against the Chinese company, which was months before the release of the movie to make public aware of the non association of Louis Vuitton with the said company and its products. Louis Vuitton also states that it had sent a letter to Warner Bros. objecting use of the counterfeited products in the aforesaid scene of the movie.

Louis Vuitton asserts that the movie has grossed millions at box office and have been watched worldwide by many and the aforesaid dialogue has become a oft-repeated and hallmark quote of the movie. The confusion so created by the scene and dialogue may blur and tarnish the distinctiveness of the LVM marks, according to Louis Vuitton.

On account of the said allegations, Louis Vuitton claims permanent removing of scenes showing such bags and LVM marks on an immediate basis to avoid any future damages. It also claims substantial damages and delivery of all such media in any form which contains such scene along with any advertising and promotional materials.

The case is still to be heard but it seems that it may cost Warner Bros. heavily, as misuse and misrepresentation of Louis Vuitton bags and LVM marks is fairly evident from the assertions put forward by Louis Vuitton.

Authored by Ms. Vintee Tiwari

Image from here

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Public Domain Dedication of Works

As I had pointed out in my earlier posts, creative commons aims to make works available to the public  for enrichment of free culture. It has towards this end created an instrument entitled, CC0 1.0 Universal,  for enabling authors to dedicate works to the public domain. By making a work available under the instrument, an author waives all copyrights and related rights in the work. The work forms part of the public domain and any person is free to use the work in any manner. Both commercial and non-commercial use of the work is permitted. The author's name cannot be used for publicity or endorsement and the author does not give any warranty with respect to a work under this instrument.

Though this dedication has been discontinued by Creative Commons, this license has been regarded as an ideal for an artist or writer wishing to dedicate his work to the public. It could be used as a tool to gain recognition through contribution into the public domain. As of date, there are many sources, which provide photographs, clip arts, movies and many other works under CC0. The total CC works have crossed four hundred million.

Open Clip Art library is an example of works provided under Public Domain Dedication.

Reference: Creative Commons

BBM sends a ‘strong message’ to BlackBerry

After the trademark infringement case with BBX, RIM has another case at hand. A Toronto based company named BBM Canada have filed a case of trademark infringement against them for use of the trademark BBM. They are a company which provide broadcast measurement and consumer behaviour data and also industry-leading intelligence to broadcasters and advertisers. The problem they face at the moment is that their offices and employees are being mistaken for RIM employees and have been receiving several calls to fix problems or activate services relating to BBM.

RIM and BBM Canada also had some negotiation which didn’t turn out to be very fruitful. In fact, the Toronto based company was willing to go in for a total rebranding at the cost of RIM but didn’t get any response for them. The CEO of BBM Canada now claims rights over it and also finds it amazing that RIM didn’t think of the repercussions before using the trademark.

RIM has a lot at stake with Blackberry Messenger being infringed as it has over 50 million subscribers. One could say that this is going to be a tough one for RIM. From BBX to Blackberry 10 and now BBM to?!

Contributed by: Nikita Hemmige

Christmas deLIGHT

 

Its December! month of the holy festival Christmas. Whole world has geared up for the big celebrations. Christmas is celebrated as traditional birthday of Jesus Christ, the central figure of Christianity. Christmas trees, Christmas lights, Christmas Carol, Christmas cakes and so on are some inherent parts of Christmas celebration. The focus of my blog is on Christmas lights.
 
The tradition of Christmas lights was started by the people who lived in the 17th century. They used to attach small candles to branches of the Christmas trees using wax or pins. But there was a risk of fire in this method. Further, Mr. Edward Johnson, resident of New York, United states, introduced electric lights as Christmas lights, in the year 1882. Edward was vice-president of Edison’s electrical company and an assistant of Thomas Alva Edison. Mr. Edward hand wired 80 red, white and blue lights and wrapped them around a rotating evergreen to use as Christmas light, the scintillating evergreen providing a visual treat to the viewers. First humane Christmas light set was introduced by American Eveready Co. in the year 1903, with the light set comprising screw-in bulbs and plug for wall socket.
 
First patent attempt on the Christmas lights was believed to be made by General Electric (G.E) in the beginning of 20th century. G.E introduced first set of pre-wired sockets, which they named as “festoons”, in the year 1903. But the patent application was rejected by the court on the grounds that the idea is based on knowledge, every wireman possessed. Mentioned below is a patent related to Christmas lights.

Mr. Carl.W.Otis of N.Y, United States, filed a patent application titled “Ornamental Illumination Device” which was issued on 4th September, 1945 (US 2383941). The invention was a light which was made of a sealed glass tube with a bubbling liquid inside. The liquid inside the glass tube was able to produce bubbles when heated, and was so called bubbling liquid. Further, a special plug was attached to the bottom of the glass tube to make sure that the chemical liquid is as close as possible to the heat source, which in turn helped the bubbles disperse more quickly and evenly. Later Mr. Carl sold manufacturing rights of this invention to a company called NOMA Electric, who then gained popularity and profit by manufacturing and selling the bubble lights in bulk. Now, the bubble lights are available in variety of colours, sizes and styles.

Whatever is the storyline, it is a fact that the Christmas lights add fun and joy to the Christmas celebrations.
 
We wish all the readers a merry X’mas and a Happy new year.

Christmas is the season for kindling the fire of hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart.  ~Washington Irving

Image from lamppost

Author: Naveen

Radio SiNApSE Updates

IP News Update : 23 December 2011

*Bayer and Cipla settled a trade mark litigation with respect to Advantage and Advantix trade marks *Online video broadcasting giant YouTube acquired Rights Flow; a firm extending services ranging from copyright licensing to commercialization of works online *The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India has issued a circular dated 14th December 2011, requesting the Indian television and Film Industry to cooperate in curbing the menace of piracy, by screening the anti-piracy clips *Carlsberg India Pvt. Ltd. Wins trademark suit against Radico Khaitan over numeral ‘8’ Newsreader: Rajni Mishra

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