ICAP offers patent portfolio for the buyers interested in eCommerce

ICAP Patent Brokerage is back with an interesting patent auction. This time the patent portfolio on the sale includes Quantum Leap Research technology : Automated system for matching buyers and sellers on the internet for providing benefits to community users. As evident from the USPTO Patent Application No.7,890,549, this portfolio discloses "Collaboration Portal (COPO) a scaleable method,system and apparatus for providing computer- accessible benefits to community of users". In other words, this technology offers an automated platform for performing marketing transactions and a collaboration portal .It will identify the seller groups which offer products and services to the online customers and match them with the suitable preferences of the customers in a user friendly software infrastructure. 

One of the key feature which makes this patent portfolio an attractive proposition for the eCommerce Business model is the fact that this technology offers a "Transaction Friendly" environment by  providing an automated platform for satisfying sellers and buyers without increasing manual efforts or requiring the services of market consultants. Thus, the technology offers an attractive business solution for the booming eCommerce ventures like online shopping, online trading and online gaming platforms.Looking at the vast market for eCommerce based businesses, I find that prospective buyers gaining access to this technology will be in a win- win situation for successfully operating their eCommerce based platforms.

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Patent Agent 2011 results

The result for the Indian Patent agent examination, 2011 has been announced. Only 201 candidates passed the threshold out of 1821 candidates who applied for the examination in Jan 2011. Details could be gathered from the website and the link here.

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Is India ready for the Utility Model Law

There has been a recent publication of a very interesting research and discussion based paper by DIPP on the utility model law and its probable applicability under the Indian Intellectual property regime. While it is noteworthy that around the globe many countries already have a well established framework for Utility Model Laws, India still is in the decision making stage of whether to implement the utility model regime or not. According to WIPO statistics there are 55 countries and 2 Inter- Governmental organizations having intellectual property protection via Utility Model Laws. Certainly there are many benefits of bringing the Utility Model Regime in India, it will boost the SME's , MSME's and will correspondingly bring an added GDP to the economy. 

More Innovations will be witnessed and the price, time and expenses for gaining such IP protections,will considerably reduce. Inventions which do not fall completely within the scope of patent laws could be registered by the Utility Model route. This will aid in an overall economic development, more inventors and small scale enterprises will indulge themselves into innovation spree. Amongst a few demerits, a primary demerit includes the fact that since there is no substantive examination prior to the grant of such utility models, such a regime can eventually cause weakness in the legal enforcement. A more detailed version of this discussion can be accessed here.

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Google's Celebrity facial recognition patent

Well, it is certainly an interesting piece of news. Google's patent application for the celebrity facial recognition has been published by the USPTO. The patent application is titled  “Automatically Mining Person Models of Celebrities for Visual Search Applications.” It is definitely an interesting approach. The patent application is apt and in place with google's idea to launch Face Recognition apparel for mobile devices. Amidst the debate over the pros and cons of this technology, the celebrity face recognition patent database has been tested with about a thousand celebrities. The technology works on the fact that it precisely identifies the celebrities facial images using an intra model analysis and other combination technologies. The patent application states "Recognition is  performed based on precision and recall to identify the face images as belonging to a celebrity or indicate that the face is unknown". Certainly it is an interesting technology but not to forget the fact that every technology has it merits and demerits.Well how successful and popular this technology will be amongst the technology savvy, for that we have to wait for a while.

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IP management and the Outsourcing debate

While offshore outsourcing is the current trend on the IP block, there has been an endless debate over the pros and cons over this issue. I would like to focus on the merits and precautions regarding the IP outsourcing phenomenon. Why do most of the big firms need an external IP counsel along with the in-house IP team. There is a big reason attached to it. One of the basic fact is that by employing an outhouse IP counsel , there is an increases level of effective IP management. There are times when work takes a toll for in-house IP counselors to follow up the relevant cases. In all such circumstances hiring and outsourcing IP work to paralegals or legal attorneys in respective domains definitely seems to be an effective proposition. Another crucial factor is "Cost". By outsourcing IP related work , firms not only get an added advantage of outhouse IP expertise but at the same time can effectively reduce costs and time associated with the IP projects. While outsourcing gives an added advantage of getting a “Bird’s eye view” approach of IP related matters from offshore IP consultants and practitioners, it also causes many concerns. 

   In the recent past off shoring the IP related work to independent contractors, legal attorneys, paralegals and SME’s definitely has added to the global GDP and created business and work opportunities worldwide but it is not to forget that all this comes with a sack of concerns. While on the one hand, firms get cost effective IP portfolio, asset management and other IP related services via outsourcing but on the other hand, issues like disclosure of information, trade secrets, ownership matters, sub-contracting, etc, can be a reason for concern. It is utmost important for the firms to create legal agreements for non- disclosure of relevant information to protect their outsourced intellectual property. The firms have to be vigilant about competitors or any outflow of IP knowledge while off shoring. Therefore, looking at the above mentioned spectrum of merits and concerns, it is mandatory to follow a well defined , well etched, integrated IP framework which will have clear standards and protection regimen for outsourcing IP related work.

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gTLDs or IDN's : What is your take!

There has been a lot of buzz about the decision of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to launch new gTLDs (Generic Top Level Domains) later this year. The usual gTLDs which currently amounts to about 2 dozen) like .com, .net, .org etc will take a new shape with the launch of new generic Top Level Domains where it will be easier for private firms and companies to register Domain names which will pertain to anything ranging from their company’s brand name to communities, generic terms, geographical regions etc. For e.g. with the new gTLDs, one can register domain names like .watches, .market , .brand , .city, .eco etc. Definitely the idea of new gTLDs  is innovative and can give companies and businesses all over the world an edge in terms of revenues and security. Considerable number of pre- registrations also started in this regard. In the backdrop of this gTLDs  buzz , it seems like IDN’s have taken a backseat, but it is certainly not the reality. Russia being the first country where last year in November,the IDN’s were launched and eventually translated country specific domain names like .ru into local scripts. The statistics states that Russia alone had 800,000 registrations for the new domain.Other countries to join the bandwagon are China and the Middle East.

It is evident that the new gTLDs and IDN’s have great promises for the future of 2 billion internet users worldwide but this innovation has arrived with a great deal of responsibility on the shoulders. The current E -Commerce market is ever-growing year by year. It will be noteworthy to understand the fact that there are many downsides attached to the IDN’s and gTLDs. For instance with the launch of new gTLDs, it will be utmost important for the brand owners to protect their brand marks, trademarks or service- marks of the registered goods and services against future infringements. The companies have to be genuinely active to watch any Cybersquatting events over the world wide web. Although it is important to mention here that to overcome such a downside of gTLD, ICANN has formulated Implementation Recommendation Team (IRT). IRT recently published a draft for the implementation of an IP Clearinghouse. The IP clearing house will support services like : Watch services for any infringement of trademarks, Uniform Rapid Suspension System (URP) for domain names that infringe IP rights and many other scanning services. On the other hand, the Downside attached to the IDN’s is also pertaining to the Cybersquatting events and infringements. It will be a cumbersome affair to detect websites in foreign scripts. Eventually such issues have to be analyzed by the UDRP and URS systems. Hence, it is very obvious that the new regimes and innovations in the domain names are undoubtedly welcoming by the internet users worldwide, but as an old adage says “With great power comes great responsibility”, it certainly comes with a great deal of duty and self awareness.

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The Ashok Leyland Trademark suit up for the Judgment

The Madras HC upheld its order in the Ashok Leyland Trademark infringement suit against the Blue Hill Logistics Pvt Ltd. The High Court agreed to the order for granting a temporary injunction in this case. It is evident that Blue Hill Logistics Pvt Ltd filed an appeal against the December 21st  Judgment order in this regard but has faced disappointment after the court dismissed their appeal. Ashok Leyland affirmed that they launched Luxura Bus in the year 2006 and the  registered trademark “Luxura” owned by them has been infringed by Blue Hill Logistics which eventually also launched Volvo bus services (designed by Dilip Chaabria Design Private Ltd) between Bangalore and Chennai under the disputed trademark “Luxuria”.

On the contrary Blue Hill supported its actions by the fact that Ashok Leyland cannot monopolize the word “Luxury” and its variants. Moreover, Blue Hill Logistics also mentioned in their supporting statements that the Ashok Leyland’s trademark primarily signifies “Goods” while their brand name pertains to “Services”.While understanding the plaintiff’s supportive statements and defendant’s appeal, the division bench finally reached on the decision that Plaintiff’s ( Ashok Leyland) held the proprietorship of the registered Trademark and any infringing use of the trademarked name can cause Loss to the Plaintiff’s brand and business. Hence, the court finally arrived with the decision of granting temporary injunction in this case. 

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India takes stand on Intellectual Property Rights

In the backdrop of recent debates on pharmaceutical and drug compulsory licensing norms, India has taken a serious position in safeguarding the Intellectual Property Rights in the country with a focus on Pharmaceutical Industries. At the recent meeting of the Trade and Economic Relations Committee, our PM agreed to the fact that in the recent past there were apprehensions and concerns about the intellectual property rights issues in  context of Indian pharmaceutical products. He indicated that the Indian side will not take any other obligations  apart from the Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement and domestic law. 

Apart from the Intellectual property rights in the Pharmaceutical sector, the committee also discussed about India-EU Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement. Meanwhile the committee also held talks and discussions about the policy framework for raising bilateral trade relationships with Australia and Southern Africa. The Bilateral trade will aid India as well as other trading countries by providing better economic stability and economic welfare. Well, we can hope such agreements will provide vibrant, stable and secured economic future to the country.

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