The Ministry of Commerce and Industry, under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, has introduced draft amendments to the Patents Rules, 2003. These drafts detail various changes proposed by the Central Government, anchored on section 159 of the Patents Act, 1970. The government seeks to amend the …
A CONTROVERSY is raging between the ministry of environment and forests (MEF) and the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, over the issue of bio- patents. While sources within the MEE believe that the WII has sold off India's bio-diversity to the US, officials at the institute vehemently deny the …
GOING by the recent experiences in the patent market, some scientists have expressed concern about the entry of us- based Progene Inc to set up genetic testing centres in the country diagnosing for genetic abnormalities. The department of biotechnology (DBT) recently received fresh information questioning the company's credentials. It has …
THE issue of protecting the interests of indigenous people against the unauthorised use and piracy of their valuable genetic material and traditional knowledge has become an important one. The Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) regime however, neither recognises such knowledge as being intellectual property nor JOs it contain any provisions to …
INDIAN researchers and inventors can look for help from the Internet. They now have access to original patent documents on the Network instead of just abstracts. A new service by Derwent, a uk company, makes available such information on the Network which will help Indian researchers study a us patent …
india is gearing up for the forthcoming conference in Geneva on trade related intellectual property rights ( trips). The government is going to amend the Copyright Act to bring the latest technologies including new digital-based processes and databases under protection. The final changes to the Act will be brought into …
To most Indians, turmeric or haldi is a part of growing up, a magic cure-all for the excesses of childhood. A classic "grandmother's remedy", the virulent yellow powder or paste has been applied to the scrapes and cuts of generations of children. But in the US, two scientists were granted …
even as India is preparing for a showdown with the us on the issue of intellectual property rights, the European Union ( eu ) fired another salvo by joining forces with the us . Both are pressurising India to change its Patent Act (1978) in conformity with its World Trade …
notwithstanding bickerings on intellectual property rights, India and the us may allow mutual patenting of vaccines and diagnostic kits developed under the Indo- us vaccine action programme ( vap ). Reportedly, the two countries are eager to exploit the benefits of a successful scientific programme even though political differences on …
The British pharmaceutical giant Glaxo Wellcome has got itself entangled in another suit ( Down To Earth , Vol 5, No 6). This time, the fight is against Emory University of Atlanta, US, over the patent on its AIDS drug, Epivir, also known as 3TC. The drug had been patented …
Seeking patents for indigenous products abroad has never been India's strong point. Right under her nose, the US granted patents on neem and turmeric, two products which are household names in the country. Predictable was the din raised by concerned NGOs who demanded that the government take suitable steps to …
how many miles must a Bill traverse before you can call it an Act? Apparently, there is no end to this. The recent case of the secretary in the department of industrial development (ministry of industry) announcing that the government has drafted a new Patents Amendment Act, which will be …
The world's largest seller of pharmaceuticals, Glaxo Wellcome of UK, lost the latest round of a protracted legal battle in the US. A North Carolina court ruling on July 5 gave the green signal to Novopharm, the Canadian drugs company, to retail a generic version of Zantac when Glaxo's patent …
the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (csir) has objected to a patent granted by the American patent and trade marks office. The patent obtained by Suman K Das and Hari Har P Cohly of the University of Mississippi Medical Center, us, relates to the use of turmeric in wound …
NORTH American wine merchants may sell liquor which tastes and smells exactly like champagne. But they can be hauled up in court for using that brand name, as only the French can market this sparkling concoction. Going by that count, the name 'basmati', alluding to the long- grained, fragrant rice …
The 32nd US patent on neem was give to FMC Corporation of Philadelphia. It is the corporation's second patent titled, "Combinations of neem seed extract and bifenthrin for control of ectoparasites on animals". This patent, awarded on December 5, 1995, became the eighth patent to the awarded in the US …
AS FAR as statistical particulars go, the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (w-ipo), has come up with an interesting detail. It received its 250,000th international application for a patent early last month, under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). The applicant reportedly belongs to the us and the …
THE wonder herb from the Little Andamans - home to the Onge fribals found to be a sure-fire antidote to the deadly malarial parasite Plasmodium falciparum, remains in zthe eye of the storm (Down To, Earth" Vol 4i No 16) :nd the imbroglio continues even as state governments in various …
THE 10-year period from 1985 to April 25, 1995 - accordingto relevant dat:bases - has been marked by a veritable delugeof us and European patents on neem-related products. Thedatabases also include information on patents which werefiled through the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PcT), a uN bodyfunctioning under the World Intellectual PropertyOrganization. …
"Part of the blame for foreign companies patenting neem products has to be taken by our own country. . People have been using neem for centuries here; but we (the scientists) have not been protecting the rights of our people over neem. It is not that our scientists never worked …
