Monthly Newsletter - November 2022
Patent filling in India increased by 5.5%, Global IP filings to an all time high in 2021: WIPO.
As per WIPO’s World Intellectual Property Indicators (WIPI) report the global IP filling remained strong in 2022 and soared in 2021, thereby showing the toughness of the global innovation ecosystem during the Covid-19 pandemic. There was a rapid increase by 5.5% in local patent filing in India followed by China and Republic of Korea that lead to the global growth in patent fillings and hence fuelling the share of Asian applications to cross the two-thirds threshold. As per the report 57.3% of the patent applications were by the non-residents.
DPIIT releases new notification w.r.t filling of Power of Attorney (Form 26).
Early publication of patent application made in Form 9 u/s 11A (2) of the Patents Act, 1970 (as amended) r/w rule 24A of the Patents Rules, 2003 (as amended) shall be accompanied by duly executed Form 26 or Power of Attorney, if applicable. If the above filling is not done, no action shall be taken for the early publication request filed through Patent Agent till the deficiency is corrected.
Revision of SIPP scheme as approved by SIIT.
SIPP scheme promotes awareness amongst start-ups in terms of adopting IP Rights and also nurture the emerging technologies amongst start-ups. The fees of facilitators have been revised and will be applicable from 2nd November, 2022. At the time of filing of patent application the fees shall be Rs 15,000/- and at the time of final disposal of application without opposition will be Rs 25,000/- and with opposition is Rs 35,000/-.
Appeals challenging a Patent Office decision to be heard by the relevant High Courts with territorial jurisdiction over the appropriate office: Delhi High Court.
The Delhi High Court stated that after the Tribunal Reforms Act of 2021 is passed, appeals challenging a Patent Office decision would be heard by the relevant High Courts with territorial jurisdiction over the “appropriate office” from which the patent application originates, which is also known as the “situs of the said application.” In such appeals, the idea of cause of action cannot be pled to grant jurisdiction to other High Courts, i.e., courts other than the one in the geographical jurisdiction of which the competent office is located, the court remarked.
KAnalysis in the following matter represented Thyssenkrupp Rothe Erde Germany Gmbh through its counsels Mr. Mahesh Kumar and Ms. Simran Soni.
Stringent patent rule creates road block for India-UK free trade agreement.
Ongoing negotiation for a trade deal?between India and UK is again under a scanner after the proposals under a leaked chapter of the deal on?intellectual property?(IP) are believed to put access to affordable, lifesaving?generic medicines?from India at risk. This may prevent patents from expiring, impacting cheaper drug availability and its production by Indian generic drug manufacturers.
China, Japan, U.S.A. are the major contributors towards the patented technological innovation to address climate change: WIPO’s Green Technology Book.
As per data on patent’s, China, Japan and the U.S.A together account for a majority of technological innovation to address the climate change in many key areas including flood defense systems, biotechnology, etc. This new flagship publication is part of the Organization’s long-standing efforts to ensure that innovation, technology and?intellectual property?(IP) are at the forefront of the fight against climate change.
Expanded Collaborative Search Pilot Program between Japan-U.S.A extended for two years.
The aim of the Japan-U.S.A Collaborative Search is for patent examiners in Japan and the U.S. to conduct searches of inventions, share the findings, etc. for which patent applications have been filed in both countries, with the ultimate goal that the patent examiners in Japan and U.S.A can send their initial examination results earlier and at the same time. In perusal of this programme, Japanese firms and others will continue to use this survey and obtain survey results in both the countries early and with minimum delay.
The test to be applied for medical products needs to be far stricter, as any confusion would result in public injury: Delhi High Court.
In the instant case the two marks were deceptively similar to each other under Section 11(1) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999. Since the two marks in question relate to medicinal products, the Delhi High Court has examined the same in a strict sense by applying the test of deceptive similarity laid down by the Apex Court in the case of Amritdhara Pharmacy v. Satya Deo Gupta which stated that similarity be looked at from the point of view of an unwary purchaser of average intelligence and imperfect recollection.
In a landmark ruling, injunction order requiring Sunset to explicitly link its online advertising and sales of filters for CPAP machines with the Sunset brand upheld.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on November 9 upheld the District of Massachusetts’ preliminary injunction order where it was ruled that SoClean’s federal registration for its trade dress constituted prima facie proof of its validity, and that this, together with evidence of alternative designs, supported SoClean’s likelihood of success with respect to the merits of its trademark claims.
A joint study by USPTO, Copyright office regarding intellectual property legal issues related to digital assets known as non-fungible tokens (NFT’s).
?Joint notice of inquiry in the Federal Register announcing that the two agencies would be collaborating on a study regarding intellectual property legal issues related to digital assets i.e. NFT’s was published by USPTO and U.S. Copyright office. This decision lead to the major rise in mainstream attention on NFT’s due to their changing value, which also lead to confusion around IP rights to NFT’s and the underlying electronic files used to create them.
?Provisions on?Trademark Agency?Supervision and Administration formulated and will take effect on Dec 1, 2022.
Aiming to maintain the behaviour and acts of trademark agency, regulate their service quality, maintain the normal order of the?trademark agency?market and encourage the healthy development of the trademark agency industry as per the Trademark Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Implementation Regulations of the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China and other relevant laws and regulations, the Provisions on?Trademark Agency?Supervision and Administration was formulated by the State Administration for Market Regulation which shall take effect from December 1, 2022.
Taiwan's trademark certificates to go digital from January 2023.
As per the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO), the trademark and patent applicants can receive their certificates digitally from 2023 and thereby moving a step further towards going paperless. The applicants may choose between an electronic or paper certificate upon payment of the application’s registration fee in the case of trademarks or issue fee and first annuity in the case of patents.
Joint Declaration between the Republic of Korea and the ASEAN on Intellectual Property Cooperation 2022
The 5th?ASEAN-Korea Heads of Intellectual Property (IP) Offices Meeting, with the theme of?IP and Innovation towards a Sustainable Future?was held in Seoul, Korea on 14 November 2022. The Meeting was co-hosted by Commissioner Insil Lee of the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) and Attorney Rowel S. Barba, Chair of the ASEAN Working Group on IP Cooperation (AWGIPC) and Director General of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL).
Indian Army Registers ‘Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)’ of the New Design and Camouflage Pattern Uniform.
Indian army now has exclusive IP rights of the Design and Camouflage Pattern and manufacturing by the unauthorized vendors will face legal repercussions. As a remedy, infringement suits demanding interim and permanent injunctions as well as damages can be filled before a competent court of law.
In SECOND IP EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2022 organized by ASSOCHAM, our firm is being awarded as "Best International Law Firm -2022"
Read our Case Success Story on Amazon Utility Patent Neutral Evaluation case
Recently,?KAnalysis?team defended two of its clients, in Amazon Utility Patent Neutral Evaluation case, back-to-back, where the client was accused of a?product infringement while selling the said product on Amazon.?