april 2021 - 164.100.236.140
TRANSCRIPT
April 2021
Volume 1 | Issue 1
What’s Inside
CGPDTM-Figurative
Status, GII and PPH–
Page 01
IPR in News
Page 04
Activities by Indian
patent offices
Page 05
Expanding the horizons
of IPO
Page 07
Patent Pooling – An
insight
Page 09
An opportunity to innovate – RGNIIPM
Page 12
Pearl of Wisdom: Grant is the beginning of the
Patent Game, not its end.
-Kalyan C. Kankanala
MSME Sector
IPR
Awareness
COVID
Vaccination
Startup India
Innovation
Make in India
Intellectual Property Office, Delhi
An opportunity to
innovate – RGNIIPM
Page 12
Shri. Rajendra Ratnoo (IAS),
Joint secretary of Department for
Promotion of Industry and
Internal Trade(DPIIT), is looking
after the work of Controller
General of Patents,Designs and
Trademark (CGPDTM).
The chair of the BRICS IP
Cooperation Programme this year
has been handed over to INDIA,
CGPDTM being the Chairman.
2021
I P OFFICE April Edition, Vol.1
EDUCATE, INNOVATE, PRODUCE, PROSPER, DEVELOP
7000
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000 Jan-21
Feb 2021(Till 11/02/21)
1000
0
Educate, Innovate, Produce, Prosper, Develop
Patents, Designs and Trademark: A figurative
status
Patent Filings in the recent months –
The recent months have seen a rise in the number of ordinary filings due to the various
awareness programs being conducted across the nation regarding the patent filings and its
importance.
During 2019-20, a 63% increase in grant of patents as compared to 2018-19 is observed. The
reasons for such a rise may include the facts like – reduction of Patent application’s
processing fee for small entities/MSME; reduction in timeline for examination of patent
application from 36-52 months in May 2019 to 10-26 months in Dec 2020; ‘’Make In India”
program of Government Of India; 80% rebate granted to 4,905 patent applications.
As well, home-grown auto major Tata Motors recently said that it received 98 patents last
year under its accelerated drive for engineering excellence and innovation. These patents
predominantly relate to the megatrend of CESS (connected, electrified, sustainable and
safe) automobiles, the company said in a statement.
According to DPIIT India granted 17,148 patents till November 30 this fiscal out of 37,660
applications filed as there was speedy disposal of intellectual property application due to
infrastructure upgradation, manpower augmentation, regulatory reforms and IT
enablement. According to the data, 1,35,289 trademark registrations have been given
IPR Newsletter April Edition, Vol. 1 Page 1
Educate, Innovate, Produce, Prosper, Develop
during April-November 2020-21. A total of 2,78,023 applications were filed. Similarly, 9,221
copyrights were granted out of 13,861 applications filed during the period.
Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) with Japan
With this arrangement, expedited prosecution under PPH would be allowed in India based
on an allowed/granted corresponding Japanese application; or vice-versa, in Japan based on
an allowed/granted corresponding India application. JPO and IPO have started accepting
PPH requests from 05 December 2019. The number of requests for PPH is limited to 100
cases per year for each office. Number of applications received and action taken through
PPH route in January and February 2021 is 42.
India’s performance at Global Innovation Index
India entered the top 50 innovating countries for the first time in 2020 since the inception of the Global Innovation Index (GII) in 2007, by improving its rank from 81 in 2015 to 48 in 2020. India ranks 1st in Central and South Asia, and 3rd amongst lower middle-income group economies. Among the seven pillars of the GII, India ranks-
• 27thin knowledge and technology outputs (KTO);
• 31stin market sophistication; 55th in business sophistication;
• 60thin human capital and research (HCR);
• 61st in institutions; 64th in creative output; and
• 75thin infrastructure.
Economic Survey on IPR
To highlight the need for an increase in R&D and encouraging innovation, Chief Economic
Adviser Krishnamurthy Subramanian compared the position of India with other major
economies and said: India lags behind most other large economies (top 10 in terms of GDP
current US$) on most indicators of innovation. India ranks second-lowest, after Brazil, on
IPR Newsletter April Edition, Vol. 1 Page 2
Educate, Innovate, Produce, Prosper, Develop
the overall Global Innovation Index, whereas countries like the U.K. and China rank much
higher for their expected level of development. Government contributes 56% of gross
domestic expenditure on R&D, while this proportion is less than 20% in each of the top 10
economies. The survey also noted that while the country has seen a rise in patent
applications being filed since 1999, it has primarily been on account of applications filed by
non-residents.
“Indian residents’ share in total patents filed in the country stands at 36%. This lags behind
the average of 62% in other largest economies. Resident share in patent applications must
rise for India to become an innovative nation.”
Unlike patents, the total number of trademark applications filed in India has risen steeply
since 1999 mainly on account of increase in trademark applications filed by residents. Larger
share of residents in total trademark applications filed in India is a positive sign for
advancement in innovation.
IPR Newsletter April Edition, Vol. 1 Page 3
Educate, Innovate, Produce, Prosper, Develop
Intellectual Property – In News
Bill proposing to abolish IPAB
A new draft bill from India’s Union Finance Minister proposes the closure of the country's
Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB). The bill suggests the abolition of the board and
transfer of its rights to commercial and high courts in order to streamline the tribunals and
reduce piling of the cases due to lack of infrastructure and manpower. This step would
enable for faster delivery and reduce the burden on the public exchequer, but also address
the issue of shortage of supporting staff of tribunals and infrastructure.
Office of CGPDTM:
Maharashtra
In a bid to boost the startup ecosystem in Maharashtra, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray
launched a scheme aimed at providing financial assistance to innovative startups to file for
IT patents. As per a statement, around 125-150 startups will be supported in the first phase
of the scheme with the financial help of ₹2 lakh to ₹10 lakh, along with financial assistance
up to ₹2 lakh for quality testing and certification for the startup's ideas.
Kerala
National Webinar Series on Intellectual Property Rights was jointly organized by KSCSTE
(Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment)-IPRICK & TIFAC –DST
(National Webinar on ‘IP Management in Biotechnology Industry’ from January 20,2021 to
January 21,2021.
Jammu and Kashmir
The GI tag application for Gucchi mushroom was filed at the Geographical Indication
Registry recently by Jammu-based NGO Border World Foundation and facilitated by the
Director of Agriculture, J&K.
The spongy, edible fungus that is said to have medicinal and anti-inflammatory properties is
found in the temperate forests of the Doda district. The applicants hope that a GI tag will
create branding and commercial interest for this rare heirloom crop, thereby helping the
tribal populace dependent on it for their livelihoods.
IPR Newsletter April Edition, Vol. 1 Page 4
Educate, Innovate, Produce, Prosper, Develop
Telangana
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Telangana recently announced that it has started an
IP Facilitation Cell in Hyderabad in association with the Telangana government to provide IP
facilitation services to entrepreneurs and innovators. The start-ups and entrepreneurs along
with the entire ecosystem will benefit from the IP cell through its empanelled IPR attorney
and in-house IP experts. Apart from IPR counselling, the cell will also offer assistance on IP
management, audit and policy along with protection of traditional products through
geographical indication.
Activities in IP Offices
Conduction of long term Hindi Prabodh, Praveen, Pragya & Parangat classes
A long term Hindi Prabodh, Praveen, Pragya & Parangat classes has been undergoing with
regard to the Hindi Teaching Scheme for the session, Jan-May, 2021. Classes are being
conducted by the Dept. of Official Language with the orders of the Ministry Of Home Affairs,
Government of India. This order is applicable to all Central Govt. Offices, Nationalised Banks,
Undertaking & Organisation etc. Officers/Employees of Indian Patent office, Mumbai have
been nominated by the Head of the office to be trained in the Hindi language. Moreover,
classes are being conducted online via Google Meet platform. Patent office ensured
compliance to the guidelines related to covid-19 issued by the Government of India.
Webinars
Various webinar programmes conducted by Mumbai Patent office –
1. Awareness of IPR [19/12/2020]
2. Procedures of Patent filing in India [05/01/2021]
3. Patent Procedures [15/01/2021]
IPR Newsletter April Edition, Vol. 1 Page 5
Mr.Sreekanth K S, Asst, Controller of P&D, Mumbai
Organizers with Shri Kalyan Revella, Dy.Secretary Runner ups
Group Photo Winners
Educate, Innovate, Produce, Prosper, Develop
4. Overview on Intellectual Property & Patenting System in India
[11/02/2021]
5. Intellectual Property Rights and patents[at Maharshi Karve Stree
Shikshan Samstha’s Cummins College of Engineering for Women, Pune]
Cricket Tournament in IPO Mumbai
“A SOUND MIND IN A SOUND BODY”- Thales
A friendly cricket tournament was played between Patent Office and Trademark Registry,
Mumbai on 13th Feb, 2021 at Chhatrapati Shivaji Krindangan, Chunabhatti, Mumbai . One
IPR Newsletter April Edition, Vol. 1 Page 6
Educate, Innovate, Produce, Prosper, Develop
knockout match was played amongst Patents and one knockout match was played amongst
Trademarks. The winning teams from Patents and Trademarks played the final match of 12
overs. Patents scored 104/3 and Trademark made 85/5 while chasing it.
Turning point : While chasing the score of around 9 runs per over, the start by the
Trademarks was quite good,however they could not maintain the required run-rate in
middle overs. In the 10th over, they blasted off with 21 runs.But in last two overs, they lose
wickets in line. Patents defeated Trademarks by 19 runs.
Expanding the horizons of IPO
MoU: India, US to boost cooperation on intellectual property
Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade(DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and
Industry has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 2nd December 2020, in the
field of Intellectual Property Cooperation with the United States Patent and Trademark
Office (USPTO), Department of Commerce of the United States of America.
Key Highlights :
The MoU aims at increasing IP co-operation between the two countries by way of:
a. Facilitating exchange and dissemination of best practices, experiences and knowledge on
IP among the public, and between and among the industry, universities, R & D
organizations, and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises through participation in programs
and events organized singly or jointly by the Participants;
b. Collaboration in training programs, exchange of experts, technical exchanges and
outreach activities;
c. Exchange of information and best practices on processes for registration and examination
of applications for patents, trademarks, copyrights, geographical indications, and industrial
designs, protection, enforcement and use of IP rights;
IPR Newsletter April Edition, Vol. 1 Page 7
Educate, Innovate, Produce, Prosper, Develop
d. Exchange of information on automation and modernization projects, new documentation
and information systems in IP and procedures for the management of IP Office services;
Cooperation to understand various issues related to traditional knowledge.
It will be a landmark step forward in India’s journey towards becoming a major player in
global innovation and will further the objectives of National IPR Policy, 2016.
Innovate, Patent, Produce & Prosper
Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare digitally addressed the
students of Shri Ram College of Commerce on their 94th Annual Foundation Day on 03rd
Feb 2021.He mentioned that “The dream of a self-reliant AtmaNirbhar Bharat can only be
met if we encourage our youth to 'Innovate, Patent, Produce & Prosper' and lead our
country towards faster development”.
India gets applause from European Parliament
A group of 14 Members of European Parliament (MEPs) has written to EU Commission and
EU Council backing India & South Africa's joint proposal to the World Trade Organization
requesting an exemption from patents and other intellectual property rights concerning
drugs, vaccines, diagnostics, personal protective equipment, and other medical technologies
throughout the pandemic. India stood up once again for the good of mankind re-affirming
"Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam which means 'the world is one family’. India called for global
cooperation on the issue.
E-office implementation in Patent Offices
E-Office is a Mission Mode Project (MMP) under the National e-Governance Programme of
the Government. The product is developed by National Informatics Centre (NIC) and aims to
usher in more efficient, effective and transparent inter-government and intra-government
transactions and processes.
Patent pools relate an agreement between two or more patent owners to aggregate one or
more of their patents for the purpose of cross licensing or to third parties. Historical road
map indicates that patent pools come into picture when the technology is multifaceted and
complex in nature and it needs to put together different composites of the technology
landscape for attaining required and superior technical solutions.
IPR Newsletter April Edition, Vol. 1 Page 8
Educate, Innovate, Produce, Prosper, Develop
Apart from technological aspects, the motivation of forming a patent pool by two
competitors may be to facilitate the partaking and transfer of patented technology and,
ultimately, making possible innovation (technological solution) without causing an eruption
of IP-related legal battle.
Pools make life easier for licensors and licensees alike by dramatically reducing the cost and
time needed to invest in the licensing process. They are a useful tool for bringing technology
to market more quickly, efficiently and fairly, and generally at a better overall price for
licensees. Sometimes the dealings and inner workings of pools may seem obscure. However,
compared to the often murky battles of individual companies over SEP licensing – think
Qualcomm and Apple, for example – they are beacons of transparency.1
Patent pools have got a significant economical aspect as far as inventing around is
concerned; by sharing patented technology, companies save their time and money required
for inventing around the technology. It is worth mentioning that efforts of inventing around
never guarantee results fulfilling the technological gap.
PATENT POOLING - HISTORICAL ASPECT
The Sewing Machine Combination of 1856 is recognized as the first modern patent pool in
the United States. In the mid-1850s, four companies (Grover & Baker, I.M. Singer & Co.,
Wheeler, and Wilson & Co.) and one individual, Elias Howe (who held crucial patents & was
non-practicing) were the holders of patented technology with respect to sewing machine;
but ironically they were spending most of their productive time and hard earned money for
suing and counter-suing each other in patent lawsuits, ultimately all this caused decline in
sales and profit.
PATENT POOLING - WIRELESS AND TELECOMMUNICATION INDUSTRY
The creation of a patent pool is always a better plan of action instead of creating reasons for
patent lawsuits for an industry having multiple players holding patent rights with
overlapping scope. The wireless and telecommunication industry is such a technological
zone which is very progressive & dynamic and resulting in multiple patents relating to
technologies needing support of other neighboring technologies (of overlapping scope) for
getting the intended results. In other words we can say, this sector gives scope to many
complementary patents which are used together to produce a specific output and are not
substitutes for each other. One may think that such scenario invites a vast scope of patent
pooling in this technological zone, however, on the other hand some Industry experts like
Bowman Heiden, deputy director at the Centre for Intellectual Property in Sweden and a
well-known expert on standardization and patent pools, explains why pools in the
telecommunications sector have been unsuccessful so far. “Large licensors in wireless have
always preferred to go it alone in mobile telecom,” he says. “In that sector, the
IPR Newsletter April Edition, Vol. 1 Page 9
Educate, Innovate, Produce, Prosper, Develop
concentration among the implementers of the standard, your prospective licensees, is
currently very high. In the handset market, if you license Apple, Samsung and Huawei, you
have got a big chunk of the potential total licensing income covered. Big licensors in this
space, such as Ericsson, Qualcomm and Nokia, prefer to handle these implementers on their
own.1
However, it should not be concluded that patent pooling is not trending in
telecommunication sector; recently ASUS and IP Bridge have Join Via Licensing’s 4G Multi-
Generational Patent Pool, and now the tally of total number of licensors have reached to
twenty-one.4
PATENT POOLING - ACCESS TO ESSENTIAL MEDICINES
One way to achieve better access to new medicines is patent pools, which allow third
parties to acquire non- exclusive licenses for the intellectual property needed to develop
products. While patent pools have existed for several decades in other fields of technology,
they are a relatively new concept in public health, where they have been applied to address
some of the access challenges in low- and middle-income countries. One way to achieve
better access to new medicines is patent pools, which allow third parties to acquire non-
exclusive licenses for the intellectual property needed to develop products. While patent
pools have existed for several decades in other fields of technology, such as in digital
technologies, they are a relatively new concept in public health, where they have been
applied to address some of the access challenges in low- and middle-income countries. 4
To improve access to antiretroviral treatment in low- and middle-income countries, Unitaid
established the Medicines Patent Pool in 2010 as the first public health patent pool. A good
example of improvement in access to medicines is treatment for human immunodeficiency
virus (HIV) infection. Later, the patent pool’s mandate was expanded to treatments for
tuberculosis and hepatitis C. 5
The Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) is a United Nations-backed public health organization
working to increase access to, and facilitate the development of, life-saving medicines for
low- and middle-income countries. It encourages to pool intellectual property to encourage
generic manufacture and the development of new formulations. 6
The experience of the MPP in dealing with access to HIV drugs has provided a concrete
example of how patent pooling can contribute to addressing some of the innovation and
access challenges relating to health technologies more generally. Public health patent pools
represent an innovative type of partnership that can be used to manage privately held IP
rights in public interest. In March 2020, the MPP expanded its scope to include any health
technology that contributes to the global response to Covid.7
IPR Newsletter April Edition, Vol. 1 Page 10
Educate, Innovate, Produce, Prosper, Develop
PATENT POOLING - POSSIBLE COMPETITION RULES VIOLATIONS
Although there is a general concord on the positive impact of patent pools and it is well
accepted that they are efficiency-enhancing, however, there may be certain instances
where the patent pools may lead to possible competition rules violations. For instance, in
Summit vs. VISX, two US firms engaged in a patent pool and developed their own
technology for performing laser eye surgery. Both companies successfully applied for
individual patent protection. This type of technology was not available on the market. The
Federal Trade Commission (FTC, one of the US antitrust enforcement agencies) concluded
that the patents were substitutes rather than complements. Therefore, the FTC found that
the patent pool restricted competition that would have existed otherwise in the absence of
the patent pool8. It is worth mentioning that substitute patents address the same issue by
using alternative technologies, hence non-blocking.
CONCLUSION
Patent pooling has been considered as a potent solution in the field of technologies since
The Sewing Machine Combination of 1856, however in the recent past it is gaining
recognition as a talisman to provide access to essential medicines to low- and middle-
income countries. Although, patent pooling may cause possible competition law violation
but the positive takes of more than few negatives. There is no reason that the rising curve of
patent pooling will deplete in the future.
1. An insider’s guide to patent pools, By Harry Rijnen, Intellectual Asset Management |
May/June 2017
2. https://spie.org/news/spie-professional-magazine-archive/2009-october/patent-
pools?SSO=1
3. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/07/07/2058576/0/en/ASUS-
and-IP-Bridge-Join-Via-Licensing-s-4G-Multi-Generational-Patent-Pool.html
4. https ://www. researchgate.net /publication/ 334667499_Patent _pooling_ to_
increase_ access_ to_ essential_ medicines
5. https://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/97/8/18-229179/en/
6. https://medicinespatentpool.org/
7. https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/patent-pooling-a-covid-success-
story/article31891866.ece
8. PATENT POOLS AND ANTITRUST – A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS ; Prepared by the
Secretariat (WIPO) (March 2014)
*The views expressed in this article are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect
views of the employer.
IPR Newsletter April Edition, Vol. 1 Page 11
Educate, Innovate, Produce, Prosper, Develop
An opportunity to Innovate – RGNIIPM
Online-WIPO-INDIA Training on Intellectual Property (Summer School)
It was conducted by the RGNIIPM Nagpur and National Law University, Nagpur with WIPO
from 8 to 19 February, 2021.
This training program provided an opportunity to professionals and students to acquire
deeper knowledge of Intellectual Property. Various lectures, case studies, exercises and
group discussions were organized by esteemed speakers. Participants were provided with
joint certificate by WIPO, RGNIIPM and NLU.
Participants of WIPO India Summer School
Inauguration of WIPO Summer School: Sh O P Gupta, Ex- CGPDTM, Dr Vijender Kumar, VC ,
NLU Nagpur, Ms Maria Stella Ntamark, WIPO Academy, Sh Pankaj Borkar, Ms Pooja
Maulikar from RGNIIPM , Mrs Ragani Khubalkar , NLU Nagpur & participants.
IPR Newsletter April Edition, Vol. 1 Page 12
Summit on: IPR supported by Atal
conducted on 18, 19 and 20 February,
2021
National Webinar on Innovations &
Intellectual Property Rights on Feb 10,
2021.
Online Workshop on “Intellectual
Property Rights and its Significance”
on Jan 29, 2021.
Webinar on IPR and Patent process on
Jan 21, 2021.
Innovation Mission, Niti Aayog
DCMSME, Ministry of MSME,
Check out the upcoming
events!
1. Fordham Intellectual Property Law
& Policy Conference 2021: 28th
Annual Conference, April 8-9
2. ICMIP 2021: 15. International
Conference on Managing Intellectual
Property December 13-14, 2021 in
Rome, Italy
Editorial team - From left to right, top to bottom:
Jitendra Choure (Asst. Controller of P&D), Arpit Jain, Subrat Sahu,
Chhavi Garg, Jaspreet Kaur, Neha Gupta, Mehak (Examiners of P&D)
Educate, Innovate, Produce, Prosper, Develop
Various other events
Your feedback/suggestions
are welcomed at - -
An application filed for patent may contain some deliberate efforts of days and nights.
-IPR Newsletter Team
IPR Newsletter April Edition, Vol. 1 Page 13