7th January, 2010

India intensifies steps to combat biopiracy

Unlawful patenting of Indian medicinal herbs like neem and haldi will now be things of past with the Indian government signing agreements with patents and trademark offices of the US and other European countries for access to the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL), a computerised database of documented information on Indian systems of medicines.

Approximately 2000 patents related to Indian System of Medicine were granted every year in the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the European Patent Office (EPO) and other overseas Patent Offices. With foreign countries accessing TKDL, it would be easy to identify the biopirated Indian discoveries and inventions.  India would demand for an early adoption of an international protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) at the tenth Conference of Parties (COP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) scheduled to be held in Nagoya in Japan in October this year.

The eleventh COP to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) would be held in October 2012 in New Delhi, marking the twentieth anniversary of the Rio De Janeiro Earth Summit, 1992 at which the CBD was first adopted. The Protocol to the CBD would help in combating biopiracy of Indian medicinal herbs. The patent on turmeric was challenged by CSIR was revoked by the USPTO in 1997. The patent on neem was also revoked by the EPO in 2000, with the help of an NGO and group of Indian farmers.

36 cases have been identified by the EPO using TKDL, of which eight have already been resolved in favour of India and the USPTO has identified 40 such cases till now.

Additional Patent Infringement Lawsuits against Teva and Pliva

The Medicine Company Files a lawsuit against Teva Parenteral Medicines, Inc. and Pliva Hrvatska in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware alleging infringement of its patent for the anti-clotting drug Angiomax.

Teva Parenteral Medicines, Inc. is a unit of Teva Pharmaceutical Laboratories Inc. Medicines Co. filed the lawsuits after Teva and Pliva were seeking the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to market and sell generic versions of The Medicines Company's Angiomax® product prior to expiration of U.S. Patent No. 7,598,343 which was issued on October 6, 2009.

The Medicine Co. is already caught up in lawsuits with the same companies over a separate patent (U.S. Patent No. 7,502,727) on Angiomax.

Patent applied for EMG controller technology

Microsoft has applied to patent a controller which functions on the principles of electromyography (EMG), or feedback generated by human muscles. The EMG system translates electrical activity from muscles into instructions which are processed by a computer accordingly. This technology tries to set free players’ hands from overusing physical control such as keystrokes, by using a series of connectors attached to an armband, which actually uses this electromyography (EMG).

Microsoft Research, along with the Universities of Washington and Toronto has worked out a way of mapping muscle movements to create user inputs in various applications without using a camera.  These EMG muscle sensors might herald gesture based computing.

Digital information and computing using inputs from sensed human muscle activity has given rise to such a useful technology. Now, it is possible for humans to interface with computers directly with muscle activity using muscular sensing and processing technologies. EMG-based systems may use carefully placed sensors according to detailed knowledge of the human physiology.

Patent licensing deal between Sharp and Toyoda

Sharp Corp. and Toyoda Gosei Co. Ltd have entered into a patent cross-licensing deal. The agreement covers light emitting diodes (LEDs) and laser diodes.

The cross-licensing agreement grants both the companies the right to use patented inventions related to LEDs and laser diodes of each other. This covers patents in Japan and other countries. This cross-licensing agreement would improve the R&D by the two companies, thus contributing to the development of the ever-growing LED industry.

Sharp Corp. is aiming to create more advanced LEDs and laser diodes in response to intense market demand.

U.S. patent to EGS for tissue fixation devices and their delivery system

EndoGastric Solutions (EGS), a leader in the new field of Natural Orifice Surgery (NOS) has been issued a patent by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for its SerosaFuse fastener and “over the wire” delivery system.

The patent entitled "Tissue fixation devices and assemblies for deploying the same,” was issued on December 15, 2009 and it relates to a slotted clasp or fastner that enables deployment over a stylet. This technology has crucial clinical value. The SerosaFuse fastener is delivered over a stylet, minimizing tissue injury and trauma. It can be placed precisely at the point of injury and can squeeze into specific tissue irrespective of thicknesses and morphologies.

These devices could be used without incisions transorally and would permit multiple fastener deployment with a single device insertion, thus reducing discomfort and recovery time. The patent describes both an H-shaped fastener and a delivery method.

Nokia and Apple in a patent Infringement Suit

Nokia has filed a suit against Apple with the US International Trade Commission (ITC), alleging infringement of its patents by Apple in almost all of its mobile phones, portable music players, and computers. The claimed Nokia patents relate to Nokia's innovations that are being used by Apple to develop key features in its products including camera, antenna and power management technologies.

Nokia alleges that Apple is trying to free-ride on Nokia IP in wireless standards. The US ITC case relates to Apple's practice of building its business on Nokia's proprietary innovation.

Both the companies are at present involved in a legal battle which started in October with Nokia filing a lawsuit against Apple in the US District Court for the District of Delaware, alleging that Apple infringed 10 of its patents related to wireless technologies used in the iPhone. Apple then countersued alleging that Nokia infringed on 13 Apple patents last December.

String of patents for Microfluidic Systems

Microfluidic Systems (MFSI), a privately-held company has been awarded a series of patents covering both the components and integrated systems that collect samples automatically by identification of air-borne pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, and toxins.

The first patent relates to a low-cost, flow-through, thermal cycling component of the integrated system for amplification of the microorganisms via the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). This is a key step in highly specific organism identification. The second patent covers the fully integrated system including sample collection, agent triggering, sample processing, amplification, and organism identification, as well as toxin protein detection.

Within this automated integrated system are crucial components and methodologies that Microfluidic Systems has also patented. Several additional patents of different versions of the integrated system have also been patented. Automation of the quick identification of disease-causing environmental pathogens is the need of the hour for diagnosis and treatment of dreadful diseases around the world.