If The Threat Of Infringement Exists, Then Courts Have Jurisdiction To Entertain The Suit

The Coca-Cola Company Vs.Bisleri International Pvt. Ltd Manu/DE/2698/2009

IPR Law- Infringement: Export: Threats: Jurisdiction – The Delhi High Court held that if the threat of infringement exists, then this court would certainly have jurisdiction to entertain the suit.

It was also held that the exporting of goods from a country is to be considered as sale within the country from where the goods are exported and the same amounts to infringement of trade mark.

In the present matter, the defendant, by a master agreement, had sold and assigned the trade mark MAAZA including formulation rights, know-how, intellectual property rights, goodwill etc for India only. with respect to a mango fruit drink known as MAAZA.

In 2008, the defendant filed an application for registration of the trade mark MAAZA in Turkey started exporting fruit drink under the trade mark MAAZA. The defendant sent a legal notice repudiating the agreement between the plaintiff and the defendant, leading to the present case. The plaintiff, the Coca Cola Company also claimed permanent injunction and damages for infringement of trade mark and passing off.

It was held by the court that the intention to use the trade mark besides direct or indirect use of the trade mark was sufficient to give jurisdiction to the court to decide on the issue. The court finally granted an interim injunction against the defendant (Bisleri) from using the trade mark MAAZA in India as well as for export market, which was held to be infringement of trade mark

Suit For Infringement Of Registered Trade Mark Is Maintainable Against Another Registered Proprietor Of Identical Or Similar Trade Mark

Clinique Laboratories LLCand Anr. Vs. Gufic Limited and Anr. MANU/DE/0797/2009

IPR Law- Suit for infringement by a registered trade mark owner against a registered trade mark holder: Conditions-The present dispute was between the registered trade mark of the plaintiff as well as defendant. It is interesting to note that before filing the suit the plaintiff i.e. Clinique had filed a cancellation petition before the Registrar of Trade Marks, India, against the defendant for cancellation of the defendant’s trade mark CLINIQ. As per the Section 124(1) (ii), of the Indian Trade Marks Act, 1999 a suit is liable to be stayed till the cancellation petition is finally decided by the competent authority.

However, under Section 124(5) of the Act, the court has the power to pass interlocutory order including orders granting interim injunction, keeping of account, appointment of receiver or attachment of any property.

In this case, the court held that a suit for infringement of registered trade mark is maintainable against another registered proprietor of identical or similar trade mark.

It was further held that in such suit, while staying the suit proceedings pending decision on rectification/cancellation petition, the court can pass interim injunction restraining the use of the registered trade mark by the defendant, subject to the condition that the court is prima facie convinced of invalidity of registration of the defendant’s trade mark. In this case the court granted an interim injunction in favour of the plaintiff till the disposal of the cancellation petition by the competent authority.

Trademarks : Iceland v. Iceland : The battle for exclusivity

Iceland (the country ) is a leading exporter of frozen fish and seafood to several countries in the EU. Recently, native companies like ‘Clean Iceland’ and ‘Iceland Gold’ have faced trouble in marketing their products due to confusion over the name which clashes with ‘Iceland Foods’ – a renowned frozen food supermarket chain that has subsisted since the 70’s.

‘Iceland Foods’ for several years used to be under the control of Icelandic investors and later Icelandic banks. As the spokesperson for the retailer said, “the relationship came to an end with a £1.5bn buyout of the company in 2012, but Iceland the company has continued to have a good relationship with Iceland ,the country through the ownership of three Iceland stores there, export sales of Iceland products to other retailers throughout the country, and sponsorship of the Icelandic national team in this year’s European football championships.”

‘Iceland Foods’ is currently a UK-based but South African owned supermarket chain.

The Icelandic government has begun legal proceedings to ensure that the trademark of ‘Iceland’- that is exclusively owned by the supermarket chain is cancelled. These steps have been taken primarily to protect native companies that are unable to promote themselves abroad in association with their place of origin, as is their right, for it is a place that they are rightly proud of and which enjoys a positive national branding.

The supermarket’s founder and chief executive, Malcolm Walker, said: “A high-level delegation from Iceland Foods is preparing to fly to Reykjavik this week to begin negotiations, and we very much hope for a positive response and an early resolution of this issue.”

The negotiations are hoped by both sides to bring an end an issue that has the potential to erupt into a long-term battle. According to Iceland Foods, they have no desire to stand in the way of a country that is making use of their own name to promote their goods as long as it does not conflict with the long standing business that the supermarket chain had established over the years.

The Icelandic government has also been clear on its stance and it does not intend to force the supermarket to register a new name, it is only seeking to end the company’s right to assert the Iceland trademark to block native companies from using “Iceland.”

Administrative Trademark Decisions May Preclude Infringement Litigation

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on March 24, 2015, that Trial Trademark and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) decisions “can be weighty enough” to preclude a district court from litigating the likelihood of confusion between trademarks in a subsequent infringement suit. The decision in B&B Hardware, Inc. v Hargis Industries, Inc. may not settle the nearly 20-year dispute between the owners of the SEALTIGHT and SEALTITE marks; however, the ruling is likely to increase the importance of TTAB proceedings. In certain circumstances, federal district courts may be bound by TTAB determinations that trademarks are confusingly similar under the doctrine of issue preclusion. Issue preclusion prevents the same issues from being litigated more than once, saving time and resources. 

As the Court explained, “[t]he full story [of the parties’ dispute] could fill a long, unhappy book.”  By 2003, the year B&B filed its opposition with the TTAB to stop Hargis from obtaining a federal trademark registration for a SEALTITE mark, the parties had been litigating trademark infringement claims for eight years.  B&B, the owner of a federal registration for SEALTIGHT for metal fasteners used in the aerospace industry, asserted that Hargis’ SEALTITE mark for fasteners used in building construction created a likelihood of confusion.

B&B won the TTAB opposition proceeding, and Hargis was denied federal registration of the SEALTITE mark. The TTAB determined that the SEALTITE mark was likely to cause confusion with the prior-registered SEALTIGHT mark. The TTAB made the determination based on a multi-factor likelihood of confusion analysis that examines the similarity of the marks, the goods, the customers and the trade channels, among other considerations.  

In this case, the TTAB only decided the narrow issue of the right to own a federal trademark registration. In contrast to a federal court, the TTAB cannot order a party to stop using a mark.  Following its loss at the TTAB, Hargis continued use of its SEALTITE mark. In subsequent infringement proceedings, B&B argued that the TTAB’s finding of a likelihood of confusion between the parties’ marks should stand, and that Hargis should not be able to re-litigate the issue. Both the district court and the Eighth Circuit rejected B&B’s argument and found that issue preclusion did not apply.

The Supreme Court reversed the Eighth Circuit and held that “[s]o long as the other ordinary elements of issue preclusion are met, when the usages adjudicated by the TTAB are materially the same as those before the district court, issue preclusion should apply.” The Court gave several reasons for this decision, including its observation that “the same likelihood-of-confusion standard applies to both registration and infringement.”

The case is now remanded to the lower court to determine if issue preclusion should apply on these specific facts, and thus the fight over the SEALTIGHT and SEALTITEmarks is likely to continue. The Court also explained that “for a great many registration decisions [from the TTAB] issue preclusion obviously will not apply because the ordinary elements will not be met.”

For example, the Court recognized the ordinary elements will not be met when the owner of a mark uses its mark in ways that are materially different from the trademark uses disclosed in a trademark application for registration. The TTAB decision will not have a preclusive effect “if the TTAB does not consider the marketplace usage of the parties’ marks[.]”

The impact of B&B Hardware on brand owners may be minimal. TTAB proceedings are routinely suspended for federal litigation involving the same parties and the same marks; however, parties that participate in a  TTAB case will need to carefully evaluate the potential for issue preclusion in a subsequent action. Indeed, as the Court explained, “[w]hen registration is opposed, there is a good reason to think that both sides will take the matter seriously.”

For trademark owners that disagree with a TTAB decision, they can pursue a de novo review of the TTAB decision before either the Federal Circuit or a U.S. District Court. Otherwise, there is a possibility that issue preclusion may impact subsequent infringement litigation involving the same marks.

http://www.natlawreview.com/article/administrative-trademark-decisions-may-preclude-infringement-litigation

US Bullying at TPP Negotiations for Big Pharma Profits. Intellectual Property Rights and the Sale of Generic Drugs

Outrageous US bullying by US Trade Representative Stan McCoy on intellectual property and health. McCoy puts profits of pharmaceuticals ahead of the lives of people.

“The world should stand up to the United States.  US corporations are not more important than people’s lives.”

A key dispute in the TPP negotiations is the patents on pharmaceutical drugs and medical procedures.  Long patents inflate the profits of the pharmaceutical industry by not allowing less expensive generic drugs on the market.

This means that people around the world will not be able to afford critical, often life-saving, drugs and medical procedures.  It also means that countries like Japan, Australia and New Zealand that have national health care systems will see the cost of healthcare rise to a breaking point, undermining some of the best health systems in the world.

Stanford McCoy of the US Trade Rep. His bullying tactics seek to prop up inflated pharmaceutical profits at the expense of thousands of lives.

In order for the US to get its way,Stan McCoy, Assistant US Trade Representative for Intellectual Property and Innovation, is chairing the meetings on intellectual properties and medicines.  He has been using bullying tactics to force countries to agree to positions that will harm people in the countries negotiating the TPP, including the US.

“The US has adopted a strategy of exhaustion in its bullying of negotiators on the crucial intellectual property chapter to force countries to trade away health in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement negotiations in Salt Lake City,” according to Professor Jane Kelsey from the University of Auckland, New Zealand, who is monitoring the negotiations. ”The US has stepped up its aggression as they move towards their ‘end point’ of the TPP ministerial meeting in Singapore from 7 to 10 December.”

Margaret Flowers, MD a health policy expert from the US says

“The Office of the US Trade Representative is putting the interests of trans-national health corporations before the needs of people. If the US position is forced through, the TPP will extend patents for medications, medical devices and even procedures for exorbitant lengths of times. This will inflate prices, keeping treatments out of reach for those who need them. This will cause unnecessary suffering and death, especially for the most vulnerable populations, and will undermine health systems around the world and at home.”

“This is a loaded game,” Professor Kelsey said. “McCoy sets the agenda and timetable. Negotiators are working from morning until late at night and preparing to work all night, if necessary. ”This is a crucial period for New Zealand and a number of other countries,” Kelsey observed. The text published by Wikileaks last week shows they have tabled an alternative to the US proposed text that has been repeatedly rejected.”

“New Zealand’s trade minister Tim Groser and his counterparts from the other ten countries must tell the US to stop this behaviour now,” Kelsey said. Flowers added: “Countries negotiating with the United States should not allow themselves to be bullied but should stand up to the United States.  It is looking very unlikely that President Obama will be able to get TPP through the Congress. Why would any country negotiate against the interests of their people?”

The US has around twenty people in Salt Lake City for the intellectual property chapter, who can rotate. Some countries have only one delegate for crucial talks on intellectual property on medicines. Their negotiations on medicines have been extended beyond the dates that were scheduled before negotiators came.  They have continued despite the fact that some health negotiators, especially from poor countries, could not extend their stay.

This follows a pattern of abuse over recent rounds reported in Inside US Trade and other media, where McCoy has acted as a gatekeeper, deciding what proposals from other countries are allowed into the text and what are not.

“This is an early warning of the extreme bullying that can be expected in when the trade ministers seek to close the deal off in December,” Professor Kelsey warned.

Source:http://www.globalresearch.ca/us-bullying-at-tpp-negotiations-for-big-pharma-profits-intellectual-property-rights-and-the-sale-of-generic-drugs/5359221

An end to trademark grabbing in China

Will the introduction of a new Trademark Law in China address the issue of trademark grabbing by unauthorized Chinese parties, 

At the end of August, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress adopted the third amendment to the Trademark Law of the People’s Republic of China, which will enter into force on May 1, 2014.What is the implications of the new law and does it address the concerns of trademark holders as to the rampant instances of trademark grabbing by unauthorized Chinese parties?

Challenges under the current trademark law

The actual trademark law, and the related case law of Chinese civil courts as well as the practice of the relevant administrative bodies in charge of trademark protection in China have clearly failed in preventing and punishing a most common form of trademark infringement in China, namely that of the so called trademark grabbing together with the related fall out of trademark trolls actions against foreign investors in China.

Trademark Grabbing

Under Chinese trademark law, only a registered trademark enjoys protection and the first person or entity to register it becomes its lawful owner, even if that trademark has already been used by others in China. Known as “trademark trolls,” certain Chinese companies or individuals are known to actively follow a strategy of registering intellectual property rights in China that arguably belong to their foreign competitors. Aware of the very strict “first to file” principle, they identify, apply and register trademarks belonging to competitors who have forgotten or not yet taken steps to register them.

The actual law and the related practice of all relevant civil and administrative bodies cannot prevent such occurrences. The usurped right holder’s only actual recourse is that of filing a trademark cancellation action and wait years for the hostile trademark to be cancelled, if this is actually really going to happen. The problem for the rightful trademark owner is that in the meanwhile, any act of manufacturing, selling, importing and offering for sale of his products with that stolen trademark, will constitute an act of infringement. The result: the grabber, aware of this, may file a civil or administrative enforcement, thus damaging the foreign company’s business and reputation. There have been indeed several of such trademark troll cases in China in the last years.

No right to prior use

The current legal system does not recognize any legal right to the prior use the foreign holder has made in China of that trademark before the registration of the same obtained by the usurper. The system does lack indeed a legal structure to balance the possible injustice created by the strict observance of the principle of “first to file”.

Trademark grabbing particularly affects medium and small foreign enterprises in China. Lack of knowledge of the trademark system of this country leads often to ineffective trademark filing policies. The loopholes left by unsystematic trademark filings are cleverly exploited by individuals (professional grabbers), competitors, and by local business partners. The latter may initially even do it in good faith, but may later discover that this is a very good bargaining weapon and a preventive tool in case they decide to leave the partnership and become competitors.

Seen in this perspective, trademark grabbing can indeed cause a business to be prevented or to be forced to leave the Chinese market in consequence to the “legal” loss of its brand and the related goodwill.

What solutions does the new Trademark Law hold?

The fact that trademark grabbing has actually reached levels that negatively affect fair competition and distort the principles backing the first to file system upon which the Chinese trademark law is based, has been now fully acknowledged and concrete changes of policy are now visible in the new trademark law.

The first acknowledgement of the existence of an unfair exploitation and abuse of the rule of first to file is the first time ever embodiment of the principle of good faith/bad faith in the trademark Law. Article 7 of the Trademark Law now expressly provides that the application for registration and use of a trademark shall be based on the principle of good faith. Such principle alone can constitute now a solid legal ground to file a trademark cancellation. Such wasn’t the case in the past, due to the lack of a legal base upon which to support a bad faith registration claim.

Aside from reinforcing the legal grounds for filing cancellations against the grabbed trademarks and speeding up the timing for completion of cancellation procedures, a most important change of policy and an exception to the “first-to-file” principle, is now contained in the new trademark law. For the first time in the history of the trademark law of China, if we exclude the case of unregistered well-known trademark, a right of prior use of a trademark in China is recognized under certain conditions, with a positive fall-out for the rightful owner in cases of trademark grabbing.

Article 59 of the third amendment of the trademark law provides that if someone has used a mark identical or similar to a registered trademark, in respect to identical or similar goods, before the date of filing of the latter trademark, and under the condition that the prior mark has meanwhile obtained a certain degree of reputation in China due to its use, the trademark registrant has no right to prevent the prior user from further employing such mark within the original scope of its use. At most, the trademark registrant may impose to the prior user the addition of an indication of distinction to the prior mark.

The norm goes even further by protecting the prior use of designs and shapes which may later form the body of a registered trademark or 3D mark. According to the same article 59, the exclusive right owner of a registered trademark may not prohibit others from the rightful use of the generic names, models or designs of the goods as included in the registered trademark, including registered 3D marks.

Even if the trademark grabber dared filing an enforcement lawsuit against the prior user, not only he would face the risk of rejection of his claims based on art. 59, but will also be subject to another risk related to the non-use of the stolen trademark. In fact, article 64 of the new trademark law provides that the alleged infringer, in this case the prior user, can raise non-use as a defense in a civil lawsuit for trademark infringement and the plaintiff has the burden to prove that he has used the trademark during the last three years from the date of the lawsuit.

If the Plaintiff fails to prove the use of the trademark as requested, the defendant will be exempted from the payment of any damages. Considering that in force of article 59 the prior user can continue to use its mark within its original scope of use, a lawsuit in such a case would be of no consequence for the prior user. Such situation is actually the most typical in cases of trademark grabbing. Most grabbers will in fact not use the trademark, given that the only purpose of stealing is to prevent the filing and use of the trademark by the foreign prior user.

A welcome addition

These new norms are a welcome addition to the Trademark Law. The prior user will have thus the right to continue to use his unregistered marks in China while attempting the cancellation of the stolen trademarks. This will give to the prior user and rightful owner of that sign to prepare and implement cancellations strategies without stopping his business in China.

At the same time, this norm should also discourage the trademark grabbers, especially the professional ones since they normally just grab marks but do not use them. In this respect, a further restraint from grabbing is provided by the new article 64, especially considering that most grabbers never use their trademarks and with such awareness will likely refrain from civil enforcement.

Sourcehttp://www.globallegalpost.com/global-view/an-end-to-trademark-grabbing-60583530/#.UmtsQXCky9Q

Intellectual Property Rights are a privilege, not a human right

Intellectual Property Rights should be subsumed to human rights, national interests and the preservation of genetic resources

Intellectual property can be defined as the creations of the human mind. Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) are legal rights governing the use of such creations. The inventors are given certain monopoly rights for a specified time, and in return, the details of the innovations are made public. It is generally assumed that IPR helps to encourage invention, innovation and dissemination of knowledge.

The term IPR covers a bundle of rights such as patents, plant breeders' rights, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets, each with a different purpose and effect. Copyright covers the expression of ideas in writing, music and pictures. Patents cover inventions such as designs for objects or industrial processes. Trademarks are symbols associated with a good, a service, or a company. Trade secrets cover confidential business information. A very recent addition -- plant breeders' rights -- covers the area of production of new seeds and plant varieties.

IPR is nothing more than State-mandated monopolies. The idea behind such rights is that the fundamentals of an invention are made public while the inventor, for a limited period of time, has the exclusive right to make, use, or sell, the invention. Discoverers and inventors are thought to deserve special rewards or privileges because their discoveries and inventions benefit society. The public good is not considered a reward in itself and therefore these incentives to encourage invention or innovation.

Inherent contradiction in IPR

The whole argument regarding IPR is built on a contradiction: that in order to promote the development of ideas, it is necessary to reduce the freedom with which people can use them. One approach to the philosophy of intellectual property that currently dominates the theoretical literature on IPR springs from the position that a person who labours upon resources that are either unowned or ‘held in common' has a natural property right to the fruits of his or her efforts, and that the State has a duty to respect and enforce that natural right.

The earliest patent laws expressed the need to ensure that innovations did not die away with the original inventor. In other words, they were designed to promote disclosure and dissemination of knowledge. However, the systems of both law and practice that emerged were based on physical expression. Thus, what was protected as intellectual property was the expression of an idea, a technological artefact, a piece of music, or a work of literature, etc.

Since it is now possible to convey ideas from one mind to another without ever making them physical, ideas themselves are sought to be given ownership, and not merely their expression. And since it is likewise now possible to create useful tools that never take physical form, there is a move towards patenting abstractions, sequences of virtual events, and mathematical formulae -- the most unreal terrain imaginable.

From inventors to corporations

Central to the projected utility of Intellectual Property Rights is the notion that creation is facilitated by the provision of a temporary monopoly which ensures that the author of a work will be the sole beneficiary of any profits accruing from it. The earliest patent and copyright laws were geared, to an extent, to benefit the individual artisan, or the author of a literary piece or a musical score. But with the institutionalisation of the concept of IPR, individual creators ceased to be the beneficiaries and were replaced by large corporate interests. In practice, today, most creators do not actually gain much benefit from intellectual property. Independent inventors are frequently ignored or exploited. When employees of corporations and governments have an idea worth protecting, it is usually copyrighted or patented by the organisation, not the employee. Since intellectual property can be sold, it is usually large corporate entities that benefit.

The value of intellectual products is not due to the work of a single labourer, or a small group. Intellectual

products are social products. Even in the US and Japan , an enormous part of research is State funded. Therefore, the line between what constitutes ‘basic research' by a company and what it draws from public funded research, is blurred.

Inhibiting research and innovation

Open ideas can be examined, challenged, modified and improved. To turn scientific knowledge into a commodity on the market, arguably inhibits science. There are innumerable examples to show that IPR has been used to suppress innovation. Companies may take out a patent, or buy someone else's patent in order to inhibit others from applying the ideas. For example, as far back as in 1875, the US company AT&T collected patents in order to ensure its monopoly in telephones. It slowed down the introduction of radio for some 20 years. In a similar fashion, General Electric used control of patents to retard the introduction of fluorescent lights, which were a threat to its market of incandescent lights. Trade secrets are another way to suppress technological development. Trade secrets are protected by law but unlike patents they do not have to be published openly.

One of the newest areas to be classified as intellectual property is biological information. US courts have ruled that genetic sequences can be patented, even when the sequences are found ‘in nature', so long as some artificial means are involved in isolating them. Companies are now racing to take out patents on numerous genetic sequences. In some cases, patents have been granted covering all transgenic forms of an entire species, such as soybeans or cotton. One consequence is the severe inhibition of research by non-patent holders. Another consequence is that transnational corporations are patenting genetic materials found in Third World plants and animals so that some Third World peoples actually have to pay to use seeds and other genetic materials that have been freely available to them for centuries.

Distorting research priorities

The pharmaceutical sector is a classic pointer to the dangers of a strong IPR regime. Large pharmaceutical companies have generated super profits through the patenting of top selling drugs. But drugs that sell in the market may have little to do with the actual health needs of the global population for, often, there is nobody to pay for drugs required to treat diseases in the poorest countries. Research and patenting in pharmaceuticals are driven not so much by actual therapeutic needs, but by the need of companies to maintain their super profits at present levels. Simultaneously, new drug development has become more expensive because of more stringent regulatory laws. This is a major reason for the trend towards global mergers of MNCs. As a consequence, we are looking to a new situation, where 10-12 large transnational conglomerates will survive as ‘research based' companies that will be in the business of drug development and patenting. The bulk of drug manufacturing will be done by smaller companies.

Given their monopoly over knowledge, these companies will decide the kind of drugs that will be developed, which are likely to be drugs that can be sold to people with the money to buy them. Thus, on one hand, we have the development of ‘life-style' drugs, like Viagra, which target the illusory ailments of the rich. On the other hand, we have a large number of ‘orphan' drugs, or drugs that can cure life threatening diseases in Asia and Africa , but are not produced because the poor cannot pay for them. Just four per cent of drug research money is devoted to developing new pharmaceuticals specifically for diseases prevalent in developing countries. To put it another way, less than 10% of the $ 56 billion spent each year globally on medical research is aimed at the health problems affecting 90% of the world's population.

A similar situation has been created in the software sector due to monopolies created by software patenting. Microsoft, with its virtual monopoly over software that is used on personal computers has consistently obstructed the development of new products by its competitors.

From victims to aggressors

In the 1980s, the US alleged that international ‘piracy' was costing American industries millions, if not billions, per year. Countries singled out for action were largely developing countries in Asia , South America and Africa.

The US presented the issue as an organised effort by foreign countries, especially the developing countries, to systematically usurp American creativity and technological knowledge. The innocent victims were American companies such as Microsoft, or Walt Disney, or Merck. Gradually the US introduced the concept of unfair trade practices alongside that of alleged IPR violations in countries like India . It was repeatedly said that the lack of strong international intellectual property laws hindered international trade. By this virtual sleight of hand, the US (with the support of Europe and Japan ) introduced IPR as an issue in trade negotiations in the Uruguay Round of GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) negotiations in 1986.

The success achieved by the US in making IPR a trade issue, and its subsequent incorporation in the WTO agreement, overturns the very basis of trade negotiations, where, classically, the developing nations are considered victims and special considerations are taken to remedy their problems. In the US version, the roles are reversed. The US is a victim and the developing countries are the hostile aggressors that threaten the very foundation of America , its creativity and ideas.

The rhetoric about ‘piracy' gave the US a justification for interference. The generalisation spread from individual pirates to entire States and occurred with the identification of ‘problem' countries like India . Finally, in a feat that defies all forms of logic, large multinational corporations were portrayed as the victims. Note here how the whole concept of intellectual property has come a full circle -- from the initial notion of the protection of an individual's rights and the notion of disclosure of information, IPR now means protection of the rights of corporations and a bar on the free flow of information.

Developing countries the losers

There is growing recognition that patents and IPR cannot be regulated under a universal standard. Different socio-economic conditions and levels of development require different intellectual property systems. The patent system may entail considerable short-term costs for developing countries, mainly due to administrative costs and problems, with higher prices for medicines and key technological inputs, while long-term benefits seem uncertain and costly to achieve in many nations, particularly for the poorest countries. Moreover, higher standards of patent protection are unlikely to have a positive effect on local innovation, except in those few countries (and sectors) that have reached a certain level of technological development and have the capacity to finance substantial research and development.

Higher standards of IPR protection were implemented in the developed countries only when a threshold level of technological advancement was achieved. For instance, pharmaceutical products were excluded from patent protection in Germany till 1968, in Switzerland till 1977, in Italy till 1978, in Spain and Portugal till 1992, and in Finland till 1995. In countries with a longer history of pharmaceutical product patents, such as Canada , France and the UK , compulsory licensing provisions were quite liberal. India 's pharmaceuticals sector is yet another example of benefiting from a more relaxed patent regime. All these factors should be considered when harmonisation and higher standards of IPR are thrust upon developing countries.

From TRIPS to WIPO

Though the ‘international politics' of intellectual property has mainly taken place at the WTO, new intellectual property standards continue to be set under the auspices of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). In this context, the new initiative at WIPO, known as the Patent Agenda, launched in September 2001, may greatly influence the shape of the international intellectual property system. WIPO is one of the specialised agencies of the United Nations system of organisations, with 182 nations as member-states. WIPO's principal objective is to promote the protection of intellectual property throughout the world through cooperation among States, and, where appropriate, in collaboration with other international organisations. It administers 23 international treaties dealing with various aspects of intellectual property protection.

Though WIPO was considered an important institution during the 1980s, due to the lack of uniform standards and a strong enforcement mechanism, key industry players in the US persuaded their government that WIPO had failed to secure appropriate levels of intellectual property protection in other countries. They lobbied to bring the issue of IPR protection within the GATT system. An obvious advantage of GATT vis-à-vis WIPO was the possibility of applying trade sanctions to countries found to be non- compliant.

As expected, developing countries resisted the proposal of negotiating on IPR in the Uruguay Round. However, the US , supported by the European Union (EU), succeeded in its efforts through bilateral dealings and the threat of unilateral retaliatory measures such as under Section 301 of the US Trade and Tariffs Act, as well as promises of concessions in agriculture, textiles and clothing.

The Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement introduced the concept of minimum standards for IPR in diverse areas and placed heavy obligations on national governments. However, there are some ‘flexibilities' available for the design and implementation of the patent regime at the national level. Much of this flexibility now faces the possibility of being eroded or suppressed under the new WIPO Patent Agenda.

Once higher standards were adopted at WIPO, pressure would build up at the WTO to further increase the intellectual property standards for all its members under Article 71 of TRIPS. It should not be forgotten that much of the substantive provisions of TRIPS are drawn from WIPO. Due to the existing international geopolitical situation, it would be extremely difficult to raise IPR standards at the WTO. Hence, the US -- the prime driver of higher IPR standards -- thought it prudent to adopt a two-stage procedure: to raise standards first at WIPO, and then export these higher standards to the WTO.

This is part of the game plan where the US has been preparing the ground for higher IPR standards globally through several bilateral agreements, notably with Jordan, Singapore and Australia, as well as other means such as asking China, or even least developed countries such as Nepal and Cambodia, to join the UPOV (International Union of Plant Variety Protection) Convention as a condition for accession to the WTO. UPOV, incidentally, is an agency that protects the interests of the large seed companies.

It was because of the demands of civil society organisations and progressive movements all over the world, that the US and other developed countries were forced to concede certain flexibilities within the TRIPS framework. In the Doha Ministerial conference, a Development Agenda was accepted which gave a lot of space for politically committed developing countries to implement IPR policies to protect their national interests, especially in relation to pharmaceutical production. The US is now trying to use WIPO as a platform to regain what it lost in Doha.

The battleground therefore has shifted from WTO-TRIPS to WIPO conferences. Recently, in the Inter-sessional Inter-governmental Meeting of WIPO, 14 developing countries led by Argentina and Brazil , who called themselves ‘Friends of Development', submitted a proposal to amend the WIPO Convention and to reform the functioning of WIPO. The essence of the proposal is to make WIPO accept the development needs of developing countries when IPR rules are framed.

Intellectual Property Rights versus human rights

There are a large number of international covenants that are signed by nation states accepting the protection of human rights, the major ones being the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights. Also there are international treaties like the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the FAO Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. These covenants and treaties are formulated to protect human rights and the genetic resources of nation states. It should be stressed that IPR are for limited periods but human rights are inalienable and universal.

Not rights but privileges

IPR should not be implemented so as to violate and infringe upon human rights. IPR should be subsumed to human rights, national interests and the preservation of genetic resources. In fact, intellectual products are basically social products. This should not be forgotten when granting certain ‘rights' to innovators. Therefore, Intellectual Property Rights cannot be considered as ‘rights' as in the case of immutable human rights. In this sense, Intellectual Property Rights are only certain ‘privileges' conferred on individuals or corporate innovators.

http://infochangeindia.org/200801176812/Trade-Development/Intellectual-Property-Rights/Intellectual-Property-Rights-are-a-privilege-not-a-human-right.html

Nestle Owns Maggi said IPAB over Trademark Dispute

Trademarks are invaluable assets of every business. These indicate source of origin of goods and services and help the consumer’s in distinguishing goods and services of one person from that of another. Trademark indicates toward a superior quality to which the consumer associates the product with. They promote businesses and help in generating goodwill and brand value and it is on account of this inherent quality that they have emerged as one of the most sought after assets of the 21st century over which diverse claims are raised every day before the various Judicial and Quasi-judicial forums of the country.

In fact, the Indian Trademark Office is flooded with Oppositions to various Trademark Applications seeking registration of trademark for diverse categories of goods and services. One of the most recent Trademark disputes that had been decided by Quasi-Judicial Forum is that of the dispute over Trademark 'Maggi' between Switzerland based Multinational Giant Societe Des Produits Nestle and Mumbai based Swaraj Industrial and Domestic Appliances Pvt. Ltd. The Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) decided the dispute and rejected the trademark application of Swaraj industry for the registration of mark 'Maggi for various classes of goods including Home appliances, mixers and grinders.

'Maggi' is popular trade name / trademark held by Nestle for selling variety of food products around the world. This trade name has acquired distinctive character and has been in use in India since 1974. The dispute between Nestle and Swaraj industries over the trademark 'Maggi' began in 1990 when Swaraj Industries filed application for registration of mark 'Maggi' as trademark for home appliances, mixers, and grinders produced by it. Nestle Company resisted this application and claim by Swaraj industries over the mark 'Maggi'. Nestle filed opposition to the trademark office where the Senior Examiner rejected the claim by Nestle Company over the trademark 'Maggi' and held in favour of Swaraj industries thereby allowing the application for registration of trademark Maggi for Swaraj industries goods.

The Senior examiner had accepted applicant /swaraj industries argument that deception and confusion was least likely to be caused in the minds of consumer in relation to the source of origin of goods on account of trademark 'Maggi' being used by the companies for different class of goods. The senior examiner held that goods in question were quite distinct from that of Nestle and also held that Nestle could not establish its trademark was well known.

Swaraj industry had submitted before the Examiner that they had been using the mark since 1984 and the mark had acquired distinctive character with respect to their goods. Nestle on the other hand submitted that the term 'Maggi' was not a word found in dictionary and was in fact derived from the surname of the company founder Julius Maggi. Nestle also submitted that that Maggi as brand had been listed as a Super brand by many journals and crores of rupees are annually spent on the promotion of Maggi products with which people identify the company with. Nestle also submitted that trademark Maggi was being used by the company around the world since 1887 and was used in India since 1974. Nestle also submitted that it had registered Maggi as a trademark for various food product produced by it since 1970.

Nestle appealed against this order of senior examiner before the IPAB challenging the stance taken by the senior examiner of trademark office. IPAB thereafter set aside the order of the examiner and held that in favour of Nestle.

IPAB held that in case the application for registration of "Maggi" as trademark for home appliances by Swaraj industries is allowed then it was in all likelihood to cause deception and confusion in the minds of general public about the source of origin of goods. IPAB said that the goods for which Swaraj industry had claimed trademark protection were indeed "allied and cognate". IPAB said that the appellants/Nestle goods under the trademark "Maggi" are food and snack items that are purchased by the common man and the household goods of the respondent would make the common man think that the goods of the respondent emanate from the appellant source.

IPAB also observed that the respondent (Swaraj industries) had not achieved the burden of establishing the proprietorship, usage and reasons for the adoption of the trademark "Maggi". IPAB also said that respondents did not prove that such adoption would not cause deception and confusion in minds of general public in case the mark is already is vogue or is in use in another classes of goods.

Thus, IPAB set aside the order Senior Examiner and held in favour of Nestle thereby asserting the country strong initiative to protection of trademarks in India.

http://www.lawsenate.com/news/nestle-owns-maggi-said-ipab-over-trademark-dispute.html

Five Things About Intellectual Property That a Startup Should Consider

Intellectual property rights (IPR) system traces its roots back to 3200 BC. Renaissance Northern Italy is thought to be the cradle of IP system. The first copyright was issued to a printing press invented in the 16th century while the first patent was issued in Florence in 15th century to Filippo Brunelleschi for a floating architectural crane. Trademarks are the oldest category of IPR.

Any organization that is planning its entry into the market should definitely keep IPR in mind. Because the benefits will not just make you richer but can far outweigh the other tangible benefits you get from your business.

Here are five points for a startup to keep in mind :

1. Single intellectual property right is enough to launch your venture

A strong single IP right can give an edge to your new venture and also makes your entry into the market comparatively easy. IP can build a fortress around the organization and protect it from competition. To leverage IP correctly, it is important to know the IP focus of an organization. For example, if you are a technology driven startup, then patents will play a major role besides copyright, trademark & industrial design. If the startup is in the business of movies, then copyright is the king. If the startup is related to games or animation then industrial design along with copyright will take prime position.

Google’s first patent, US6285999, filed on Jan 9, 1998 called Page Rank was a link analysis algorithm. The patent was assigned to Stanford University and not Google in the beginning, as this technology was developed by Sergey Brin and Larry Page when they were PhD students at Standford. Google had exclusive license rights on the patent from Stanford University. Later on the founders purchased the rights from the University for 1.8 million shares of Google in exchange of use of patent. Later in 2005 the University altogether sold the shares for $336 million. Both the institute (assignee) and students (inventors) rightfully exploited their IP rights to build today’s tech giant, Google. The Page Rank IP also holds a trademark protection – an example of a single invention being protected by two different types of IP.

2. DEVELOP YOUR IP PORTFOLIO

It would be a good idea for startups or any business, to align core competencies of business with their IP strategy. This helps to build a strong IP portfolio. Almost all patents of Google are in ‘computing, calculating and counting’ domain. Thus Google follows a very focused innovation and IP generation process.

For example: In the computing space, Google has registered a patent to detect events of interest in context of network traffic, registered as US7970934B1. In this case Google has registered the patent which forecasts the traffic that will come to the Google Search page to search information about any event of interest, like an earthquake. This helps them efficiently manage site traffic and improve user experience.

3. BE AWARE OF IPR OF OTHERS

It is advisable for startups to know the IPR of others to avoid infringement. Remember ‘law does not forgive ignorance’, so no point pleading ignorance in case of a lawsuit.

In October 2006 when Google acquired YouTube, organizations like Viacom Mediaset and the English Premier League filed lawsuits against YouTube for violation of copyright. Viacom said that more than 150,000 unauthorized clips of material owned by Viacom were viewed on YouTube. And Google had to payup for this unauthorized use of Viacom’s IP right.

4. OBSERVE YOUR COMPETITION

Besides an internal focus, it is desirable to keep an eye on your competitor’s IP development. Patent analytics and business analytics can help know the technology trend and market scenario of competitors.

Google keeps a close watch on what Yahoo!, Microsoft, eBay, Amazon, Facebook, Hulu and Washington Post among others are what they are doing. Known as competitive intelligence, Google tracks its competitor’s technology development closely to ensure they are not caught unawares. For example, when Google launched Google Docs it was in direct competition to Microsoft Office’s Word. This gave users the advantage to directly work on a word file online without have to download it to make any changes. This move by Google has impacted the need for users to have a licensed copy of MS Word on their devices to work.

5. COMPETE WITH YOURSELF

To grow, compete with yourself and develop new technologies or brands which will satisfy your customer. When Larry & Sergey founded Google in 1998, they started with their core product — search engine. Later they built the revolutionary email platform – Gmail, creating threat for Yahoo! and have now ventured into cloud based applications that threatens Microsoft.

The creations by Google are result of out-of-the-box thinking which resulted in disruptive innovations. This intellectual input by inventors at Google is rightly protected by IP regimes. And Google is able to commercialize these inventions appropriately and at the right time.

Source: Gouri Gargate, Yourstory. in

Agarwal and Company Law Offices LLP.