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 …
New Delhi: Reacting to a TOI report on the conflict of interest of Central Pollution Control Board chairman, environment and forests minister Jayanthi Natarajan has said she will inquire into the facts. On Thursday, TOI had reported the attempt by CPCB chairman S P Gautum to cash in on a …
Pfizer Inc and Dr Reddy’s Laboratories have settled a patent infringement suit related to the Indian drug maker’s launch of a generic version of the blockbuster drug, Lipitor, in the US. Pfizer’s Lipitor is the world’s largest-selling drug, which generated about $7 billion in sales last year in the US …
New Delhi: Chairman of the Central Pollution Control Board S P Gautam sold a patent he held privately on a technology to the apex authority on a revenue sharing basis and then passed a directive in his official capacity asking the leather industry to buy the expensive and untested know-how. …
With only four years remaining in which to achieve the key targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), most of the world’s Heads of State and Government came to the United Nations in September 2010 to take stock of progress made thus far. Despite significant setbacks owing to the 2008-2009 …
Why is the pharmaceutical industry taking such a keen interest in the Pesticides Management Bill, 2008, or PMB, which would appear to be as far removed from drugs as chalk from cheese? The Bill, pending in Parliament since 2008, is all set to be debated in the current session with …
The final hearings have started at the Supreme Court regarding Swiss drug-major Novartis' blood cancer drug Glivec. The landmark case will have ramifications on the implementation of the amended Indian Patents Acts, including aspects of interpreting and assessing the efficacy of a medicine seeking a product patent. Novartis had filed …
For more than two hundred years, the world has discussed the issue of whether to continue the process of patenting or whether to do away with it. Developed countries remain polarized for various reasons but nevertheless the pro patent regime continued. The result was a huge volume of patents. The …
The World Intellectual Property Organization has announced clearly that it intends to play a role—and considering the clout WIPO enjoys it implies a significant part—in promoting intellectual property (IP) in agriculture to enhance productivity. The UN body stepped into this touchy arena with a seminar at its Geneva headquarters that …
In a closely watched case, a federal appeals court ruled on Friday that genes can be patented, overturning a lower court decision that had shocked the biotechnology industry. The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which specializes in patent cases, said that Myriad Genetics was entitled to patents on …
Three scientists from the National Chemical Laboratory (NCL) in Pune, Amol Arvindrao Kulkarni, Dattatraya Dethe and Rahul Banerjee, have been selected for the Young Scientist Award 2011, instituted by the Council for Industrial and Scientific Research (CSIR). The award carries a cash prize and a citation and will be presented …
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Gilead Sciences has become the first pharmaceutical company to set up a licensing agreement with the recently-established Medicines Patent Pool (MPP), in a move aimed toward increasing access in developing countries to drugs that treat HIV and Hepatitis B. The landmark deal was announced yesterday, …
Independent India inherited a structure of landholdings characterised by heavy concentration of cultivable areas in the hands of relatively large absentee landowners, the excessive fragmentation of small landholdings, growing number of landless agricultural workers, and the lack of any generalised system of documentary evidence of landownership or tenancy.
Farmer-breeders are an unsung tribe. In far corners of the world, farmers study the seeds they use, experiment with them, do simple back-crossing to improve yields and taste, and quite often come up with winners. Some farmers are geniuses when it comes to improving their seed and introducing simple but …
A NEW adhesive could make sticking stuff together a little easier in outer space. Most glues become brittle and loose their stickiness when moisture is removed. But this adhesive developed at Kansas State University in the US does the exact opposite, becoming stickier in drier environments. The adhesive was recently …
If numbers were enough, the case of Organic Seed Growers & Trade Association, et al versus Monsanto would already be won. On March 29, family farmers—in America, this essentially means small farmers; in India it would be redundancy— along with seed dealers and international organic farming organisations, filed an unusual …
WHY would a company with a turnover of Rs 9,712 crore and profits of Rs 933 crore want a research loan of less than Rs 10 crore from the government? Ask the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), which has become venture capitalist to well-heeled industry. In a novel scheme that turns …
