GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION

KINNAURI SHAWLS RECEIVE GI TAG

Kinnauri Shawls, famous for intricate geometrical designs has been granted the geographical indications tag, under the Geographical Indications ("GIs") of Goods Act, 1999.

The Kinnauri shawls available in yellow, red, blue, green and pink on white, black and grey as background colours are made in Kinnaur in Himachal Pradesh. These shawls made from yak wool provide sufficient warmth and need specialized labour skills for their intricate designs.

This GI registration for Kinnauri shawls would prevent any unauthorized production, limitation or misuse of the brand name of Kinnauri Shawl. Any kind of infringement of the registered Geographical Indication could result in maximum of three years imprisonment and maximum fine of Rs 2 lakhs. No manufacturer other than those registered - mainly the Kinnaur Handloom Weavers' Association and the Himachal Pradesh Patent Information Centre - can work on the Kinnauri shawls.

Kullu Shawl, Kangra Tea and Chamba Rumal are some other products of Himachal Pradesh that have already been registered under the Geographical Indication Act.

PATENT

COLGATE PALMOLIVE ACCUSED OF BIOPIRACY

A herbal toothpaste manufactured by Colgate Palmolive, the world's largest producer of toothpaste, is the cause of a legal dispute between India and US.

Colgate patented a tooth-cleaning powder containing clove oil, camphor, black pepper and spearmint, anticipating that it would enter the multibillion-dollar Indian oral hygiene market.

The U.S. patent titled "red herbal dentifrice" was filed in January 2006 and granted on 15th June this year. Indian activists claim that the patent is false as these ingredients have been used in India for the same purpose since many years and is a traditional knowledge.

An Indian organization that promotes traditional remedies, the Association of Manufactures of Ayurvedic Medicines (AMAM), has requested the Indian government to take legal action against Colgate for its act of "Biopiracy".

AMAM has sought withdrawal of Colgate’s US Patent and Cancellation of its Indian application as this product ‘Lal dant manjan’ is a traditional Indian herbal medicine.

APPEAL AGAINST GENETIC PATENT RULING

A U.S. District Court ruling that invalidates patents on naturally occurring genes was appealed by Myriad Genetics, a Salt Lake City company.

The court ruled that parts of seven patents held by Myriad Genetics that concern two human genes related to breast and ovarian cancer known as BRCA1 and BRCA2 are invalid because the genes are products of nature and thus not eligible for protection under U.S. patent laws.

The plaintiffs in the case, which included 20 researchers, organizations and cancer victims, said the patents on DNA were illegal and impeded access to the testing.

Myriad said that the material and methods which were patented are substantially different from those found in the body.

ZYNGA TO PATENT VIRTUAL CURRENCY

Zynga, the creator of social networking games like FarmVille and Mafia Wars, is seeking a patent on purchased in-game currency. San Francisco-based Zynga is a gaming company with more than 1,200 employees now across studios in 12 cities.
Online games have been offering virtual currencies, usually earned by performing actions within a game. The currency can then be traded for in-game objects which help players step forward. These currencies cannot be purchased legally. Zynga freely sells its game currencies, like FarmVille Cash and FrontierVille Horseshoes.

Zynga's patent application states that its virtual-currency innovation is unique as the currency exchange is one-way. Players can send cash into the system, but they cannot take cash out.

Zynga is the largest developer of games on social networks like Facebook. Facebook has its own virtual currency system called Facebook Credits which Zynga is tied to by a five year contract to use Facebook credits.

JOINT PATENT CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM BY USPTO AND EPO

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and European Patent Office are working together to develop a joint patent classification system, with the intention to bring the EPO and U.S. classification systems in line with the International Patent Classification (IPC) system, administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

Regarding the joint effort, USPTO Director David Kappos and EPO President Benoit Battistelli stated that the USPTO and EPO had agreed "to work toward the formation of a partnership to explore the development of a joint classification system based on the European Classification system (ECLA) that will incorporate the best classification practices of the two offices."

It is expected that this joint classification system would help USPTO and EPO to eliminate unnecessary duplication of work, thereby promoting more efficient examination and enhancing examination quality.

TRADEMARK

LASERFICHE AGAINST SAP FOR TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT

Laserfiche has filed a trademark infringement suit against SAP America, Inc., SAP AG and SAP Global Marketing, Inc. in the United States District Court in Los Angeles for infringing Laserfiche's Run Smarter(R) trademark.

"Laserfiche has been using our federally registered Run Smarter® trademark as the centerpiece of all our marketing campaigns since 2004," said Tom Wayman, Vice President of Marketing at Laserfiche. "The trademark is synonymous with our brand, and has helped us grow our client base to more than 28,000 customer organizations around the world," he added.

Laserfiche® and Run Smarter® are registered trademarks of Compulink Management Center, Inc.

GENERAL IPR

COPYRIGHT

INDIA TO ALIGN INDIAN COPYRIGHT LAWS WITH GLOBAL STANDARDS

To control rising piracy and violations of intellectual property rights, India is all set to modify its copyright regulations in the form of the Copyright Amendment Bill 2010, which is in tandem with the global standards in internet and digital technology.

The Copyright Amendment Bill 2010 is well equipped to deal with protection of copyright material in India over digital networks related to literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, films and sound recordings.

The amendment bill, now in the upper house of the Indian parliament (Rajya Sabha), seeks to provide rigorous punishment for copyright violations. A web portal of Anti-Piracy Coordination Cell has been launched, which will coordinate with the efforts taken by the government and the music industry to curtail piracy. The Anti-Piracy Coordination Cell was constituted by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) on 15th October 2010 with the support of the HRD Ministry.