Recently, by way of a Public Notice dated October 18, 2018, in light of the need to revise the list of facilitators, the TM Office has invited applications for registering as facilitators under the SIPP scheme. The deadline to submit applications is November 20, 2018.

In 2016, the Government of India announced Start-ups Intellectual Property Protection (SIPP) scheme to protect and promote Intellectual Property Rights of start-ups and encourage innovation and creativity among them. The aim was to enable start-ups to avail cost-effective IP services of qualified attorneys, agents or organizations enrolled as facilitators under the scheme. The facilitators do not charge any fee from the start-ups and are paid directly by the Central Government through the Office of The Controller General Patents, Designs & Trade Marks.

One of the several objectives of the National IPR Policy, 2016 is to strengthen IP Chairs in educational institutes of higher learning to provide quality teaching and research, develop teaching capacity and curricula and evaluate their work on performance-based criteria. Taking this into consideration, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion formulated a Scheme for Pedagogy & Research in IPRs For Holistic Education & Academia (SPRIHA) to encourage the study of, education in, research on Intellectual Property Rights, as well as to promote outreach on Intellectual Property matters. Thus, institutes were invited to submit proposals for institution of IPR Chairs. The following institutions have been approved by the Competent Authorities for setting up of IPR Chairs:

1. National Law University and Judicial Academy, Assam
2. Gujarat National Law University
3. National Law School of India University
4. Cochin Institute of Science And Technology
5. Maharashtra National Law University
6. Panjab University
7. National Law University, Jodhpur
8. Indian Institute of Technology Madras
9. Nalsar University of Law
10. Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee
11. West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences
12. National Law University, Delhi

The Government of India acceded to the WIPO Copyright Treaty and WIPO Performers and Phonograms Treaty on September 25, 2018. The Union Cabinet had approved the proposal submitted by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ministry of Commerce and Industry regarding accession to the WIPO Copyright Treaty (“WCT”) and WIPO Performers and Phonograms Treaty (“WPPT”) in July 2018. Both treaties were concluded in 1996 and entered into force in 2002 and extend coverage of copyright law to protection of works and rights of their authors in the digital environment and therefore also known as the ‘Internet Treaties’. The accession is in-line with the National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy adopted by the Government on May 12, 2016.

The WCT accepts computer programs and compilations of data or other material as intellectual creations. It confers rights of distribution, rental and broader right of communication on the owners of such works.

The WPPT grants performers (such as actors, singers, musicians, etc.) and producers of phonograms (persons or legal entities that take the initiative and have the responsibility for the fixation of sounds) rights in the digital environment, such as:

1. The Right of reproduction, distribution, rental and making content available; and,
2. The right of broadcasting, communication to the public and fixation.
3. Moral rights

The accession will benefit copyright owners in digital era provided that Indian Intellectual Property laws are amended and tailor-fitted such that the treaty law functions cogently alongside the municipal law and to add to the intellectual property practice in India.

The WCT and WPPT will enter into force, with respect to the Republic of India, on December 25, 2018.

 

In a Memorandum issued on September 10, 2018, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has directed the National Biodiversity Authority to consider all such cases where prior approval required to obtain any biological resource or knowledge associated thereto has not been obtained, including acts that may have occurred in the past. The Authority shall take into consideration the scientific evidence as well as any damages that might have been caused due to the lack of the required approval. The Authority shall ensure that only those cases are granted approval for future activities which would have otherwise been approved in the normal course.

With the direction to comply within a period of 100 days from the issue of this memorandum, this step is intended to conserve biological diversity, maintain sustainable use of its components and fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from its commercial use.

The Office of Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks (CGPDTM), through a Notice dated August 2, 2018 has invited Expression of Interest (EOI) for making use of Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Internet of Things and other latest technologies in Patent Processing system of IPO.  Any legal entity (recognized under the Indian laws) which has been in existence for a period of at least three years, having a turnover of not less than Rs 10 Crore in the preceding three years and has done a substantial work in the emerging technologies can submit their tender through the EOI document. The deadline for submission of EOI is September 23, 2018.

The Office of CGPDTM with the help of the entities (whose tenders are finalised) intends to adopt latest technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Internet of Things in patent processing system.