New Indian Patents (Amendment) Rules 2024: What You Need to Know
Significant changes to benefit patent applicants and owners
The Indian Patent (Amendment) Rules, 2024 (Rules) have been notified and made effective by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India on March 15, 2024, with an intent to:
- Expedite and streamline the prosecution of patent applications;
- Allow flexibility on certain previously non-extendible deadlines through extension fees;
- Simplify the requirements for corresponding foreign filing particulars as well as working statements; and
- Curb the filing of frivolous pre-grant oppositions.
Delhi HC – Intersection of doctrine of equivalents & process patents
The plaintiffs, FMC Corporation and FMC Agro Singapore Pte Ltd (FMC), sought an interim injunction against the defendant, Insecticides India Limited (IIL). The plaintiffs asserted that IIL had used their patented processes to prepare anthranilic diamide insecticide compounds covered by Indian patent No. 298645 (the 645 patent). The 645 patent had been assigned to FMC by EI du Pont de Nemours and Company.
FMC alleged that IIL’s process was substantially similar to FMC’s. It contended that while IIL’s process utilised the carboxylic acid of formula two and the aniline compound of formula three, instead of the sulfonyl chloride, IIL employed thionyl (oxalyl) chloride. Further, IIL’s use of oxalyl chloride instead of sulfonyl chloride was an insubstantial difference. According to FMC, the two performed the same function (ie, activation of a carboxylic acid moiety) in the same way as the coupling of the carboxylic acid with aniline to achieve CTPR. Thus, the two manufacturing processes were equivalent.
Future of workplace: Embracing change & fostering connectivity
On this episode of The Shape of Work podcast, our guest is Durgesh Mukharya, Equity Partner at K&S
Durgesh answers:When you first started your journey, what was something that was more challenging than you expected?What’s something that everyone in your industry should start or stop doing?Considering the pandemic and how work and workplace dynamics have changed in the past 2 yrs, what is your take on what the future of work is going to be?Who’s your mentor or industry role model?
Requirements for inventive step Life Science and Pharma patents
Requirements for inventive step in India along with common patent eligibility issues in Life Science and Pharma patents
India has been on an upward growth trajectory for the last two decades, which has led to its slow but steady transformation into a knowledge driven economy that now has increased focus on quality research and innovation. This, coupled with India being one of the largest consumer markets in the world, makes for a perfect battleground where patents become important tools to not only distinguish oneself from competitors, but to also become market leaders.
Inventive Step in India
Patent protection in India is governed by The Indian Patents Act, 1970 (the Act) that amongst others, provides Sections 2(1)(j) and 3, that define an invention in India and enlist subject matters that are outside the purview of patent eligibility in India, respectively. Put together, these 2 sections form the most important technical provisions that determine whether an invention can be successfully protected by way of a patent in India or not.
Patent Subject Matter Eligibility – A Global Guide – Globe Law & Business
A great compendium of subject matter eligibility requirements across various jurisdictions and a handy reference for developing a prosecution strategy across jurisdictions for inventions in a given technical domain. - Nitin Sharma, Director, Engineering and Patent Counsel, Qualcomm India
Patentees file applications in more and more countries every year, with nearly four million PCT applications filed since the Patent Cooperation Treaty came into force in 1978. Yet prosecuting patents in different countries can be challenging. Each country has its own laws for pursuing patent applications and achieving enforceable patents, and local patent law varies widely on the issue of patent eligibility.
This title explores patent-eligible subject matter across major jurisdictions and technologies. With succinct discussions of case law, patent office practices, and practical prosecution strategies, this guide is intended to help patent practitioners determine where to consider filing applications, the risks and benefits of certain claim types and language, and how to increase the strength of their clients’ global patent portfolios.
The Challenging Pursuit of Patent Claim Amendments in India
The provisions in patent laws which provide for claim amendments, play a critical role in maintaining the patent ecosystem. In India, Section 57, read with Section 59(1) of the Act governs amendment of claims.
Amendments to patent applications are a regular feature of patent prosecution worldwide. From requiring the title to conform with claims in India, to conforming the whole description in Europe, different jurisdictions have their own requirements. However, since claims determine the value of a patent, it is important that claim amendments are treated with caution. It is essential to ensure that the language of claims which get granted, is in sync with the business objective of a patentee. This post reviews the practice of allowing amendments in claims of a patent application by the Indian Patent Office (IPO) and looks at some of the gaps that may need to be filled.
Untapped potential of CRISPR in India: IP perspective
While patent filings on the gene-editing applications of CRISPR seem to have gained real momentum from 2012 onwards, 2017 saw a peak in worldwide filings.
Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR), one of the most talked-about technologies of the decade whose developers were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2020, is essentially a product of the efficient adaptation of a bacterial immune mechanism against invading viruses into a gene-editing tool in higher organisms. CRISPR enables alterations at genomic level with high specificity and accuracy. From healthcare and agriculture to the energy sector, the applications of CRISPR have made it one of the most promising gene-editing technologies to date, with further applications being constantly explored by scientists to achieve new heights in scientific innovation.
Surprisingly, unlike other contemporary technologies, CRISPR has reached the vocabulary of individuals even outside the scientific community over the years. The merits of the technology aside, what has also garnered a lot of attention are the ethical concerns pertaining to its in vivo applications and the long-fought patent disputes over its application in eukaryotes.