During last week’s Practice Work Shop (PWS) Session, Gazal Sancheti, Trainee Associate, led a discussion on “Can the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library help prevent misappropriation of traditional cultural expressions?”. The session saw an insightful discussion on whether the closed-access model, documentation and benefit-sharing mechanisms of the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library would help prevent misappropriation of traditional cultural expressions. The session delved into the advantages and disadvantages of documentation of such expressions. The session concluded with some intriguing ideas on alternative mechanisms that could be used to protect traditional cultural expressions.

A ‘Legal Issues Seminar- General IP (LIS-GIP)’ was conducted by Sannidhi Mahapatra, Associate, on “Can a Suit of Passing Off Be Instituted in Respect of Unregistered Geographical Indications?”. The seminar explored the legal provisions that can be interpreted to determine whether whether a suit of passing off can be instituted with respect to unregistered geographical indications. The session delved into the divergent views taken by courts on the issue and explored relevant judicial decisions in this respect. The session concluded with an interesting discussion on scenarios in which trans-border reputation may enable the holder of an international but lesser-known GI to institute a suit of passing off against a domestic producer using a similar GI.

The presentation can be accessed here.

During last week’s Practice Work Shop (PWS) Session, Harshita Agarwal, Trainee Associate, led a discussion on “Would Grant of Patents to Conversational Chatbots in India Raise a Privacy Concern?”. The discussion delved into the impact of granting patents to conversational chatbots that are modeled after dead people and whether creating such chatbots with a huge amount of personal data would raise privacy a concern in India. The session also saw an insightful discussion on the ethical issues surrounding the creation of such chatbots and whether consent from the family members of the deceased would mitigate the privacy concerns. The session concluded with an interesting discussion on whether grant of patents to such AI-based chatbots is ethical and in public interest.

A ‘Legal Issues Seminar- General IP (LIS-GIP)’ was conducted by Gazal Sancheti, Trainee Associate, on “Can a Single Copyright Infringement Suit be Filed by Multiple Plaintiffs Against the Same Defendant(s)?”. The seminar explored the legal provisions that can be interpreted to determine whether a single copyright infringement suit can be filed by multiple plaintiffs in respect of unrelated copyrighted works against the same set of defendant(s). While discussing relevant judicial pronouncements, the session specifically delved into divergent views taken by courts on the issue. The session concluded with an interesting discussion on scenarios in which filing a single infringement suit is a better option as opposed to separate suits.

The presentation can be accessed here.

During last week’s Practice Work Shop (PWS) Session, Harshit Parasher, Trainee Associate, led a discussion on “Is Granting Universal Access To Pharmaceutical Patent Information A Viable Option For Promoting Access To Medicines?”. The session saw an insightful discussion on the impact of grant of universal access to patent information and whether it could be used to achieve an equitable healthcare system. The session delved into whether there is a need of disclosing sensitive information for promoting research and development. The session concluded with some intriguing ideas on how such disclosure could be implemented while balancing the interests of the pharmaceutical companies and the public at large.