GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION
GI TAG FOR GIR KESAR MANGO, BHALIA WHEAT
The Geographical Indication's Registry in Chennai has bestowed the geographical indication (GI) tag to Gir Kesar mango and Bhalia wheat from Gujarat. Junagadh Agriculture University (JAU) and Gujarat Agro-Industries had applied for the GI on behalf of Junagadh farmers. The whole region around the Gir wildlife sanctuary is the habitat for this variety of Mango and only those grown in the 18 talukas around the Gir would be known as Gir Kesar. The GI tag would help check the sale of ordinary Kesar mangoes, grown mostly in Junagadh and Amreli districts, as Gir Kesar.
Anybody selling any other variety of mango as Gir Kesar can be fined or jailed for a term extending up to two years. The fine ranges from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh under the Geographical Indication of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999. Gir Kesar is the second mango variety to acquire the GI tag after the Dussheri of Uttar Pradesh.
Bhalia wheat, a long grain wheat variety grown without irrigation for centuries in the Bhal region of Gujarat has also been accorded the GI status. The wheat has high protein content and has a sweet taste. The farmers in the Bhal region along the Bhavnagar and Ahmadabad districts will be able to use the tag “Bhalia wheat”.
EU AND GEORGIA SIGN AGREEMENT ON PROTECTION OF GIS
The European Union (EU) and Georgia signed a bilateral agreement on the protection of Geographical Indications of Agricultural Products and foodstuffs in Brussels on 14 July 2011. This would permit the use of geographical indications for anyone who produces agricultural and foodstuffs in the EU and Georgia, also making sure that the imported goods meet European standards. Georgia is the first neighbour state to negotiate on this matter.
The EU was represented by the Polish Presidency and the European Commission. The agreement will contribute to the increase of trade between the EU and Georgia substantially. At present, around 3000 agriculture products have been registered for protection in the EU. Eighteen Georgian wines will be added to the list, including “Manavi”, “Kindzmarauli”, “Akhasheni”, “Gurjaani”, “Tsinandali”, “Khvanchkara”.
COPYRIGHT
AACT SEIZES DVDS WORTH RS 1.34 MILLION
The Alliance Against Copyright Theft (AACT), a Hollywood-Bollywood alliance to fight the various forms of piracy in India, seized nearly 13,040 pirated DVDs and CDs nearly 31,000 inlay cards of newly released & unreleased movies in Mumbai and Aurangabad last month. The DVD’S included recent releases like Shaitan, Bheja Fry 2, Ready and Bhindi Bazaar Inc.
AACT maintains its scheme of conducting premeditated raids on movie pirates throughout the country to ensure that pirated versions of new movies are not available at roadside stalls.
AACT seized a total of around 81,040 pirated DVDs of newly released movies like Always Kabhi Kabhi and Double Dhaamal worth Rs. 47.2 lakhs across Mumbai and Gujarat in June 2011.
TRADEMARK
"GANDHI RICE" AS TRADEMARK OPPOSED
The name of the father of our nation Mahatma Gandhi and his image has been intended to be used for commercial purposes. A person named Valverde Munoz of Ecuador has sought trademark registration of the name and label "Arroz Gandhi" in international class 30 at the Trademark Office, Ecuador. Mr. Lalit Bhasin an Indian lawyer has filed an opposition to this request for trademark registration.
The term "Arroz Gandhi" for which the trademark was sought in respect of "aged or old rice, also medium and long grain rice", when translated into English means, "Gandhi Rice". This rice may or may not come from India. Mr. Bhasin who opposed the registration of Mahatma Gandhi's name for commercial use in a foreign state mentioned in this petition that it could hurt the sentiments of the general public who have admired and respected Mahatma Gandhi as the Father of the Nation.
The law of India protects "Gandhi" as a national emblem, under the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act of India, wherein no one may use the name or pictorial representation of Mahatma Gandhi or Gandhi in a trademark or design without authorization of the Government of India.
The opposition was taken on record by the Trademarks Office of Ecuador and it is likely to be heard on October 10.
LOUIS VUITTON WINS LANDMARK COUNTERFEIT CASE IN CANADA
The luxury bag maker Louis Vuitton has won the largest ever judgment in a trademark counterfeiting and copyright case in Canada. A Canadian federal court has punished firms importing designer fakes from China.
The court has ordered Canadian companies Singga, Carnation Fashion and Altec to pay the French firm CAN$1.4 million and its co-plaintiff Burberry CAN$1.1 million, for a total judgment of CAN$2.5 million (US$2.6 million). These companies with manufacturing operations in China had been selling, counterfeit and infringing fashion accessories, specifically handbags, bearing Louis Vuitton trademarks and copyrights and Burberry trademarks since January 2008.
The court, in its ruling has granted the highest penalizing damages of its kind in a counterfeiting case in Canada.
PATENT
ICMR TO ACQUIRE PATENTS OF TRADITIONAL HEALING TECHNIQUES FOR ANDAMAN TRIBALS
The traditional healing methods, practiced for hundreds of years by some of India's most elusive tribes residing in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands using local medicinal plants are to be given due credit.
ICMR's Regional Medical Research Centre (RMRC) is preparing a unique Community Biodiversity Register (CBDR) for the tribals of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to document their traditional healing practices, using 124 medicinal plants, their healing record, mode of preparation and number of patients treated. The ICMR plans to acquire patents of these traditional healing techniques in the name of the tribal healers.
About 170 medicinal plants have been identified in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Around 86% of the islands are reserved and protected tropical rain forests.
MICROSOFT AND GOOGLE ACCUSED OF INFRINGING 3D MAPPING TECHNOLOGY
Microsoft Corp. and Google Inc. have been charged for allegedly violating a Louisiana company's patent covering mapping technology that helps computer users see locations in three dimensions.
In a lawsuit, filed in the federal court in Wilmington, Delaware, the company, Transcenic Inc. alleges that executives of Google and Microsoft, the world's biggest software maker, have infringed its patented technology that enables them to capture 3D images of locations on a map. The company now demands to recover damages sufficient enough to compensate for the alleged infringement by Google's Street View and Google Earth and Microsoft's Streetside programs.
Transcenic Inc. asserts that computer programs like Google's Street View system is also violating residents' privacy rights by collecting data from individual Wi-Fi networks. Google Street View has also been barred from filming in India.
Google acquires 1,030 patents from IBM
Google Inc. in a bid to defend itself from any anticipated patent litigation has acquired more than 1,000 patents from IBM.The Internet search giant is taking on a mission to augment its intellectual property portfolio. Google at present has more than 700 patents, mostly for search engine technology. Its Android mobile device software has often been targeted in legal disputes. Established companies from the mobile industry with large intellectual property profile are competing with Google.
Google was assigned 1,030 granted patents from IBM covering a range of topics, from the fabrication and architecture of memory and micro processing chips, to other areas of computer architecture including servers, router and and online search engines. The acquired patents also cover relational databases, object oriented programming, and some business processes.
Google had made a bid for patents from bankrupt Nortel Networks in April but was ousted by competitors, including Apple, Microsoft and Research in Motion, that make devices that vie with Android.
