7th May , 2010

India fights traditional remedies patent claims

Over the past one year India has challenged 36 attempts by international companies to get patents on Indian traditional knowledge at the European Patents Office (EPO). The countries from where the applications were made include the US, the UK, Italy, Spain, Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, South Korea, China, Kenya and India.

The EPO has set aside two cases on the patents of pistachio and musk melon. Eleven patent applicants have withdrawn their applications after viewing data from India’s Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL). The TKDL lists 2 lakh formulations from Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha schools of medicine in over 30 million pages.

EPO is expected to reject the remaining 23 applications according to the secretary, department of AYUSH, Ministry of Health, Government of India. The other patent applications that are pending before the EPO include use of Bengal gram to treat obesity and diabetes (China), turmeric, cumin, ginger and onion as slimming agents (Denmark), using aloe vera to treat obesity (Germany) and arjuna as an anti-ageing agent (Germany).

In 1995 the US Patent & Trademark Office had granted a patent for the wound-healing properties of turmeric and the European Patent Office (EPO) had granted a patent for the anti-fungal properties of neem in 1994. Both were revoked after India fought for it.

European Patent for the Treatment of Cancer awarded to MultiCell Technologies

MultiCell Technologies, Inc. has been granted a European patent covering some of its therapeutic candidates for the treatment of cancer.

MultiCell Technologies has produced a new class of recombinant antibody therapeutics which redirect the immune response to specific cancer targets matching to the peptides engrafted onto the recombinant antibody. These recombinant antibody therapeutics not only produce an effective immune response, but also stimulate the generation of cytolytic cells, and Interferon-gamma and Interleukin-2 producing T-cells.

This novel recombinant antibody therapeutics together with MultiCell's dsRNA therapeutics was able to eradicate cancer and generate immunity against the reoccurrence of tumors in animal models.

MultiCell also owns exclusive rights to two issued U.S. patents, one U.S. patent application, and a number of issued and pending foreign patents and patent applications related to the isolation and differentiation of liver stem cells.

IP group formed by developing countries

Eighteen developing countries have assembled together to make sure that their interests are properly reflected at the United Nations intellectual property body.

The new group intends to change the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) in helping the member countries achieve development goals through balanced and standardized use of intellectual property.

The formation of this group marks the conflict between rich and developing countries over IPRs. Rich countries believe strong IPRs are needed to encourage inventions and that piracy and counterfeits destroy jobs and economies. And many developing countries feel such rights are abused to deprive poor people’s access to essential medicines or to steal a countries' traditional knowledge.

Besides Egypt, the group includes Algeria, Brazil, Cuba, Djibouti, Ecuador, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Uruguay and Yemen.

Claim over ‘Ayur' in court

The Delhi High Court has passed an injunction in favour of Three-N-Products Ltd, Delhi against Holistic Health Care Ltd in the dispute over the trademark ‘Ayur'.

Three-N-Products Ltd claims the right to the registered trade mark, while Holistic Health Care Ltd has ventured into the same business with the mark ‘Ayurcare'. Both are in the health and wellness business- spa, dance classes, abstract body art, Su-Jok, spiritual and holistic healing.

The high court stated that Three-N-Products Ltd had made prior use of the mark Ayur and was entitled to impose its rights as a registered proprietor of the mark. Its mark is well known and has acquired wide reputation in India and abroad. Holistic Health Care's use of the mark would damage the unique character and name of the registered trade mark of Three-N-Products and take unfair commercial advantage.

Microsoft and HTC sign Android patent deal

Microsoft and HTC have signed a new patent deal that specifically provides the Taiwanese mobile phone maker with the right to use Microsoft's patented technologies in phones running Google's Android operating system.

Microsoft had alleged that Android infringes on its patented technology and that the infringement applies to areas ranging from the user interface to the underlying operating system.

The details of the financial terms of the agreement between Microsoft and HTC are not known but Microsoft will receive royalties from HTC. The agreement covers all Android-based phones made by HTC, including the Nexus One, which is directly marketed by Google.

Microsoft has claimed in the past several years that Linux-based products infringe on its patents and sought out licensing deals with those making devices based on the open-source operating system. The company has signed many such deals but this is the first one covering Android. Android is based on Linux and also includes other mobile-specific interfaces and programs which Microsoft sees as infringement of its technology.

EU to amend law to avoid seizure of Indian drugs

The EU would be changing its internal legislation to make sure that seizure of Indian drug consignments does not happen again. Giving in to India’s protest against seizures of drugs en route to Africa and Latin America by European Union customs, the 27-nation union would alter one of its internal legislation to avoid such occurrence.

The Ambassador of the EU Delegation to India, Mr Daniele Smadja has mentioned “We are committed that what had happened the year-and-a half ago doesn’t happen again”.

India had threatened to take the European Union (EU) to the WTO against drugs seizure by customs authorities of various member states of the European Union over alleged patent infringements. This issue has already been raised at a WTO’s dispute settlement forum, but India had kept the option open to formally lodge a complaint against the EU at the multilateral trade body headquartered at Geneva.

European authorities had seized 18 drug consignments of Indian companies, including that of Dr Reddy’s, Cipla and Lupin that have been exported mainly to Africa and Latin America.

The Indian Government would scrutinize if the proposed changes in EU law regarding seizure of drugs are adequate to deal with the concerns of the Indian generic medicines industry.

Google Settles Trademark row relating to Gmail in UK

Google has settled a five-year trademark dispute in the U.K. with Independent International Investment Research over the use of the Gmail name. Now after the deal, Google Mail in the U.K. can be called Gmail, just as it is elsewhere in the world.

Google intends to switch its U.K. Gmail users to actual gmail.com addresses instead of the googlemail.com addresses currently used by many people.

Persons having a Google email (@googlemail.com) account in the UK, will soon have the option to switch to the matching @gmail.com one, but they are free to stick with @googlemail.com. When Google launched its online email service in the U.K., it used the Gmail name, just as it does in other countries. The name and domain was changed to googlemail.com as the Internet search giant could not reach an agreement with Independent International Investment Research over the use of the name in UK.

The transition from Google to Gmail in the U.K. will begin over the next week.

Roche’s HIV drug patent dismissed

The Indian Patent Office has canceled the patent on Valcyte, granted to the Swiss drug maker F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, following opposition by domestic drug makers and patient groups. The Chennai office rejected the patent claim on the grounds that valganciclovir lacked novelty. Valganciclovir is an essential drug for the treatment of severe eye infections that HIV infected people are prone to.

Various pharma companies including Cipla Ltd, Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd, Matrix Laboratories Ltd and Bakul Pharma Ltd, along with patient groups Indian Network for People Living with HIV/AIDS and Tamil Nadu Networking People with HIV/AIDS had challenged the Valcyte patent.

Roche had reduced the price of Valcyte by nearly one-third after the government slashed import duty on it last year and the medicine was available for Rs475 per tablet instead of Rs700. In 2008 Cipla launched the generic version of Valcyte with the brand name Valcept, costing Rs245 a tablet and Rs64, 680 for the entire treatment, which is half the cost of treatment with Valcyte.

Roche filed infringement lawsuits in the Bombay high court as Cipla’s version flouted its patent. As Roche’s patent is now canceled, the lawsuits may also be dismissed and Cipla can continue selling its generic version.  Roche has the choice of appealing against the patent office’s decision at the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB).

The Patent Office scrutinizes the patentability criteria to prevent new forms of old drugs from being patented.