DEFINITION OF PATENT

The word patent originates from the Latin patere, which means "to lay
open" i.e., to make available for public inspection.
A patent is commonly known an intellectual property. A patent is a
monopoly right granted to a person who has invented a new and useful
article or an improvement of an existing article or a new process of making
an article.
In modern usage, the term patent usually refers to the right granted to
anyone who invents any new, useful, and non-obvious process, machine,
article of manufacture, or composition of matter.
It consists of an exclusive right to manufacture the new article invented or
manufacture an article according to the inventive process for a limited
period.

HISTORY OF PATENTS

In 1449, King Henry VI granted the first English patent with a license of 20
years to John of Utynam for introducing the making of colored glass to
England.
Patents in the modern sense originated in 1474, when the Republic of
Venice enacted a decree that new and inventive devices, once put into
practice, had to be communicated to the Republic to obtain the right to
prevent others from using them.
England followed with the Statute of Monopolies in 1624, under
King James I, which declared that patents could only be granted for
"projects of new invention."
The patent systems in many other countries, including Australia, are based
on British law and can be traced back to the Statute of Monopolies.

HISTORY OF PATENTS

In 1641, Samuel Winslow was granted the first patent in North America by
the Massachusetts General Court for a new process for making salt.
The modern French patent system was created during the Revolution in
1791. Patents were granted without examination since inventor's right was
considered as a natural one.
In the United States, during the colonial period and Articles of
Confederation years (177889), several states adopted their own patent
systems.
The first Congress adopted a Patent Act in 1790, and the first patent was
issued under this Act on July 31, 1790 (to Samuel Hopkins of Vermont for
a potash production technique).

TYPES OF PATENTS
There are three types of patents:
Utility patents
Design patents
Plant patents

Utility patents: Utility patents may be granted to anyone

who invents or discovers any new and useful process,
machine, article of manufacture, or composition of matter, or

any new and useful improvement thereof.

A utility patent last for 20 years from the date that the patent
application is filed.

TYPES OF PATENTS

Design patents: Design patents may be granted to

anyone who invents a new, original, and ornamental
design for an article of manufacture.

Design patent lasts for a maximum of 14 years.

Generally, design patents are used to protect the
aesthetic shape of functional articles (i.e., the unique
shape of a bottle, jewelry designs, computer icons,etc)

TYPES OF PATENTS

Plant patents: Plant patents may be granted to

anyone who invents or discovers or reproduces any
distinct and new variety of plant.

This may include cultivating different types of plants

to create mutants or hybrids and also newly found
seedlings

Plant patent lasts for 20 years.

PATENT SPECIFICATIONS

A patent application should always be accompanied

with a provisional or complete specification.

A patent specification is a document describing the

invention for which a patent is sought and setting out

the scope of the protection of the patent.

As such, a specification generally contains a section

detailing

the

background

and

overview

invention, a description of the invention.,etc

of

the

PATENT SPECIFICATIONS TYPES

The application initially filed with the Patent Office must

contain the following:

a) Provisional Specification
b) Complete Specification

A provisional application is usually filed to establish priority of

the invention in case, the disclosed invention is only at a
conceptual stage and a delay is expected in submitting full
and specific description of the invention.

PATENT SPECIFICATIONS TYPES

complete

specification,

which

follows

provisional specification, does not replace the latter.

Both are permanent and independent documents.

Thus, a complete specification should furnish the

detailed description of the invention as described in
the provisional application.

SECTIONS OF A PATENT SPECIFICATION

The sections of a patent specification are:
A. Title of the invention.
B. Cross-reference to related applications.
C. Statement regarding federally sponsored research (if applicable).
D. Background of the invention.
E. Summary of the invention.
F. Description of the drawings.
G. Detailed description of the invention.
H. Sequence listing.
I. Abstract.

PROCEDURE FOR OBTAINING A PATENT

Filing of application in the patent office
Filing of provisional/complete specification
Acceptance of specification

Publication of application
Request for the examination of application
Examiners report

Approval

Objections
Amendment of objections
Grant of patent

PATENTABLE SUBJECT MATTER

Patentable, statutory or patent-eligible subject
matter is subject matter which is susceptible
of patent protection.
Patentable requiremets are : novelty, nonobviousness, industrially applicable.

Patentable subject matters varies from country to

country.
Novelty is one of the essentials of the patents.

NON-PATENTABLE SUBJECT MATTER

Generally you cannot patent living things, although
you can patent certain live matter, such as
genetically engineered animals, plants, etc., or the
process of extracting a natural product
You cannot patent laws of nature, mathematical
formulas and abstract ideas

You cannot patent simple and already existing idea.

A process of treat meant of human beings cannot
be patented.

LAWS GOVERNING PATENTS

The law governing Patents in India is Patent Act,
1970 as amended in the years 1995 and 1999,
along with the patent rules.
Patent Act 1970 Act defines invention as:
any new and useful
art, process, method or manner of manufacture;
machine apparatus or other Articles;
substance produced by manufacture

CLAUSES AND SECTIONS

Section 3 speaks about invention not patentable.
Inventions which are 'frivolous, contrary to Natural
Law, Contrary to Law or morality or injurious to
public health or formulation of an abstract theory.
'Clause (b) of 1970 Act is prevention of an invention
the primary or intended use of which would be
contrary to law or morality or injurious to public
health'.
Sub-clauses (j) to (o), (k) of the bill attempts to
make a mathematically or business method or a
computer program or algorithms non-patentable

3(I) is all clear about not patenting literary,

dramatic, musical or artistic works, including
cinematographic works and television productions.
(m) of the bill excludes a mere scheme or rule or
method of performing mental act or method of
playing game. a presentation of information is
intended to be kept out of patent protection.

INFRINGEMENT OF PATENTS
Patent infringement is the commission of a prohibited act with respect to a
patented invention without permission from the patent holder. Permission may
typically be granted in the form of a license.

The scope of the patented invention or the extent of protection is defined in

the claims of the granted patent. In other words, the terms of the claims inform the
public of what is not allowed without the permission of the patent holder.
Patents are territorial, and infringement is only possible in a country where a
patent is in force.

ELEMENTS OF PATENT INFRINGEMENT

In response to allegations of infringement, an accused infringing party will
generally assert one or more of the following:

it was not practicing the patented invention;

it was not performing any infringing act in the territory covered by the
patent;

the patent has expired;

the patent (or the particular claim(s) alleged to be infringed) is invalid,

because the invention in question does not meet patentability or includes a
formal defect, rendering the patent invalid or unenforceable;

it has obtained a license under the patent.

PATENT INFRINGEMENT INSURANCE

Patent infringement insurance is an insurance policy provided

by one or more insurance companies to protect either

an inventor or a third party from the risks of inadvertently
infringing a patent.

For inventors, patent infringement insurance covers legal

costs in case they have to sue an infringer to enforce their
patent.

For third parties, patent infringement insurance covers their

legal costs in case they are sued for patent infringement by an
inventor.

CASE STUDIES ON PATENTS IN INDIA

Case Studies to be discussed:
The Novartis Patent Case
The Turmeric Patents Case
The Basmati Rice Patents Case
The Roche v. Cipla Patent Case

THE NOVARTIS PATENT CASE

Indias Supreme Court handed down a landmark decision on 1

April 2013, rejecting an appeal by Swiss drug maker Novartis.

For its attempt to obtain an Indian patent on Glivec (imatinib

mesylate), its drug for chronic myeloid leukaemia and other
cancers in 2006.

The Supreme Court of New Delhi based its decision for the
first time on a clause in Indias intellectual property law that
allows a patent to be rejected for a medicine that provides

only minor therapeutic improvements to molecules discovered

before 1995.

THE TURMERIC PATENTS CASE

In 1995, Suman K Das and Hari Har P Cohly were granted a

US patent on Use of Turmeric in Wound Healing.

The Centre for Science and Industrial Research (CSIR)

located 32 references, some of them more than 100 years old,

which showed that this finding was well known in India prior to
the patent being feted.

The CSIR then filed a formal request for re-examination of the

patent at USPTO in October 1996. In March 1997, US PTO

rejected all six claims to the patent made by the University to
which the duo was attached.

THE BASMATI RICE PATENTS CASE

In the late 1997, when an American company RiceTec Inc was

granted a patent by the US patent office to call the aromatic rice

grown outside India "Basmati", India objected to it.

Since Basmati rice is traditionally grown in India and Pakistan, it

was opined that granting patent to RiceTec violated the
Geographical Indications Act under the TRIPS agreement.

The USPTO drastically curtailed the scope of a patent granted to

RiceTec in 1997 so that the company is entirely prevented from
marketing Basmati rice as its "invention" in the US.

THE ROCHE V. CIPLA PATENT CASE

Indian Generic manufacturer Cipla had won the landmark

Roche v. Cipla Patent Infringement case in the Delhi High

Court on September 8 2012 over Ciplas Generic version of
Anti-cancer Drug Erlotinib.

The judgment was in favor of Cipla stating that Cipla did not
infringe Roches Indian patent IN 196774.

According to the Judge, it was scientifically proven that Ciplas

Generic Drug is the Polymorphic Form B which is not Roches
patented Drug.

RECENT PATENTS
Apples new patent redefining wireless computing :

Apple recently submitted a patent to the U.S. Patent & Trade Office for
new ideas in wireless computing. Apart from just connecting a
keyboard and mouse wirelessly to the CPU, Apples new design
eliminates the need for an external display, by integrating a projector
into the central unit. The patent, applied for in 2010, was originally
filed in Q3, 2008. The patent is a combination of various patents filled

over the last two years, including the pico projector, smart projector,
and inductive charging.

MICROSOFT TO START PAYING LICENSING FEES

FOR ANDROID DEVICES
Microsoft has revealed that it has entered into an agreement with
Foxconn, the company that makes the iPhone and many other
Android devices, to start receiving licensing fees for patents
being used by Android devices. According to the agreement,
Foxconn will pay a licensing fee for every device that it makes
that runs on Googles mobile operating system. Microsoft has
been chasing Android manufacturers for a while now to procure
licensing fees for Android features that it has long claimed are
protected by its patents

LG, WORLDS BIGGEST MANUFACTURER OF LCD SCREENS,

LOSES PATENT WAR WITH AU OPTRONICS :
LG filed a patent infringement case against AU Optronics (AUO)
in December 2006, alleging that it was infringing on 4 of its LCD
patents. After much legal back and forth, when the case finally
went to court, AUO filed counter-claims, bringing up 4 of its own
patents that it claimed LG was infringing on. The AUO patents in
question are based on LCD optimization technologies, which
reduce errors, speed up response time, and increa.se lifespans
of the screens

APPLE AND GOOGLE TEAM UP TO BID ON KODAK PATENTS

:
A new report indicates that Google and Apple are allegedly teaming up
on a bid of more than $500 million for Kodak's treasure trove of
patents: A fallout of Kodak declaring bankruptcy in January of this year
2013. For Kodak, that simply means more money comes to the table as
a result of the sale, one that would likely never reach the initial billion-

dollar estimates as a result of the patents themselves already being

broadly licensed. For Apple and Google, it allows each company to
escape a potential costly bidding war for Kodak's portfolio

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF

OBTAINING A PATENT

Advantages of Patents
A patent gives the inventor the right to stop others from
manufacturing, copying, selling or importing the
patented goods without permission of the patent holder.
The patent holder has exclusive commercial rights to use
the invention.
The patent holder can utilize the invention for his/her
own purpose.
The patent holder can license the patent to others for us.
Licensing provides revenue to business by collecting
royalties from the users.

 The patent holder can sell the patent any price they
believe to be suitable.
The patent provides protection for a predetermined
period (20 years) which keeps your competitors at
bay.

Patents are partially responsible for advancements in

medical science, biotechnology, drug chemistry,
computers etc.
Patents reward inventors with the aforementioned
advantages and hence, creates bigger and better
discoveries.

Disadvantages of Patents
A patent is an exclusive right provided to a patent holder in
exchange for the public disclosure of their invention. A full

description with claims is published and can generally be

viewed by anyone with the internet including your
competitors.
After the exclusive patent period (20 years) has passed, other
individuals or companies can freely use the invention without

any permission from, or paying royalties to the inventor.

Applying for patent can be a very lengthy, time consuming
process.

 Cost of patent filing may be surpass the actual financial

gains. If a patent is to be filed further in different
countries, then again the cost increases. After the patent
grant, annual fees should be paid to the respective patent
offices, otherwise the patent period may lapse.

You must be prepared to defend your patent if need be.

Taking action against infringement is costly.

ALTERNATIVES TO PATENTING

Patent is not the only form of protection

Other forms of IP protection may be available to

protect your idea or invention

May cost less than traditional patent protection

If you were an inventor of a unique ink cartridge with unique ink,

you might be tempted to file a traditional patent.

Over approximately twenty years, you could expect that it would

cost at least twenty thousand dollars to prepare the patent

application,

file the application,

prosecute the application,

issue the patent, and

maintain the patent.

At the end of the life of the patent, your competitors could freely

make your product. But is traditional patent protection the only

strategy? Is it the best strategy?

When formulating an IP strategy, other alternative types of IP

protection that should be considered alone or in combination
include, but are not limited to,

Provisional patent ,

Secrecy (protecting foreign rights for free!),

Contracts,

Copyright law (great for software!),

Trade dress law, and

Trademark law.