Pluristem Receives Patent in India for Cell Therapy Production Methods and Compositions

Pluristem Therapeutics Inc . PSTI -1.23% (tase:PLTR), a leading developer of placenta-based cell therapies, today announced it has been granted Patent No. 261087 from India's Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trade Marks for a patent titled, "Methods for Cell Expansion and Conditioned Media Produced Thereby for Therapy."

The patent, which has also been granted to Pluristem in Australia, Russia and South Africa, covers the Company's key technology platform, its method for 3-dimensional expansion of placental and adipose (fat) derived cells. It also covers the composition of cells derived using this method.

"We believe Pluristem is the global leader in the commercial-scale production of placenta-derived cells. In our manufacturing facility, we use proprietary 3-dimensional cell expansion technology that gives us the ability to precisely control cell growth based on the intended indication to be treated. Our ability to do this on a large scale is one of our key assets," stated Pluristem CEO Zami Aberman.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/pluristem-receives-patent-in-india-for-cell-therapy-production-methods-and-compositions-2014-06-16?reflink=MW_news_stmp

RECENT TRADEMARK DISPUTES: PEPSICO

Delhi High Court recently decided a Trademark case involving the soft drink giant, Pepsico India Holdings Pvt. Ltd. (Plaintiff) involving the Trademark ‘Aquafina’ used for its bottled water products. Justice G S Sistani restrained the usage of the deceptively similar trademark ‘Aquafine’ by Aqua Mineral (India) (Defendant).

The Hon’ble court acknowledged the successful efforts of Pepsico India in establishing the trademark, trade name logo and label ‘Aquafina’ being used in respect of their product and said that the label was created for and on behalf of the Plaintiff, adding that it was an original artistic work falling within the meaning of Section 2 (c) of the Copyright Act, 1957. The court further held that the usage of a mark that was identical and/or deceptively similar to the Plaintiff’s trademark by the Defendant, in respect of packaged drinking water, was a clear cut infringement of Copyright and Trademark rights enjoyed by the Plaintiff.

India: A Glimpse Of Recent Developments In Patent Arena

The US Trade Representative 301 Report found that Indian IP regime favors the native and therefore, the chances of US downgrading India in this report was most likely.1 However, the Indian government refused to participate in US unilateral investigation while defending its IP regime. Essentially, India is compliant with its commitments under TRIPS and has used flexibilities which are available to WTO members and that is entirely within the limit and commitments made by India under TRIPS and WTO agreements. India is also gradually aligning its IP regime to the global regime. In the domain of patents, India became a contracting state to the Patent Cooperation Treaty ("PCT") on December 7, 1998 and this heralded an era of regulatory and procedural changes. Now, the Indian Patent Office ("IPO") enjoys the privileges enjoyed by the patent offices of other developed nations. The recent unprecedented decision of granting compulsory license for manufacturing patented drugs by Indian patent authorities have also evoked mixed responses and, turned the attention of other countries to the patent law developments in India.

The present bulletin will discuss the various changes carried out to the IPO by WIPO followed by the streamlining of the procedural aspects of patent registrations in view of the newly acquired status by IPO and, also, the concept and recent grant of compulsory license.

Full News:
http://www.mondaq.com/india/x/319732/Patent/A+Glimpse+Of+Recent+Developments+In+Patent+Arena

Galaxy Entertainment files for Broadway trademark in Macau

A unit of Macau gaming operator Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd is seeking to register the trademark “Broadway” in Macau, according to the government’s Official Gazette.

Applications seen by GGRAsia show Galaxy Entertainment Licensing Ltd filed several requests to register the Broadway trademark in the city, including “Broadway Cotai”, “Broadway Resort” and “Broadway Hotel & Casino”. In 2010, Galaxy Entertainment Licensing had also filed for the “Galaxy Macau” trademark.

The company filed the trademark requests for different uses, including casino operations, hospitality, retail, entertainment and restaurants.

According to normal procedures, the trademark could become official within two months if there are no legal challenges against it.

Approached by GGRAsia, Galaxy Entertainment said it was not immediately available for comment, adding that more information “will be announced later”.

http://www.ggrasia.com/galaxy-entertainment-files-for-broadway-trademark-in-macau/

SC Clarifies Law On Patent Revocation Procedure

The Supreme Court, in a judgment dated 2nd June, 2014, clarified the procedure relating to revocation of patents. As per Section 64 of the Patents Act, a patent can be revoked by way of revocation petition before the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) or by way of a counter claim in a suit for infringement before the High Court. The SC held that only one of the two remedies available under Sec 64 of the Act can be availed so as to assail the grant of patent in India. This alert by Khaitan & Co. summarizes the ruling and its impact.

http://thefirm.moneycontrol.com/story_page.php?autono=1101631

Suffixing 'Lite' to edible oil brand may hang heavy on Akola firm

The Bombay High Court recently restrained an Akola-based firm from marketing an edible oil brand on the grounds that the name was similar to an established product. The court said that merely adding a suffix to a popular name can't be the basis of a new trademark.

Kamani Oil Industries Private Limited had approached the HC, alleging that use of brand 'Riso-Lite' by Bhuwaneshwar Refineries Private Limited was an attempt to take advantage of their mark 'riso'.

While admitting Kamani's plea, Justice S J Kathawala observed, "I am prima facie satisfied that the defendant's mark Riso-Lite is deceptively similar to the petitioner's mark 'riso'." The judge added that suffix 'Lite' could also be misconstrued as a low-cholesterol variant of brand 'riso'.

Kamani's petition states that it has been using the 'riso' trademark for its rice bran oil since July 2011. Within a short span of time, the commodity proved to be a hit among the consumers.

The city-based firm stated that it learnt in 2013 about the defendants manufacturing and selling oil under name Riso-Lite in Akola. After a search with the trademark registry, it found that the Bhuwaneshwar Refinery had applied for registration of the trade mark.

In its defence, Bhuwaneshwar Refinery argued that Riso-Lite was a composite label, where 'riso' was one of the elements written in a particular manner. The defendant claimed that Kamani was entitled to claim infringement if the whole of the brand name were adopted.

more at http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report-suffixing-lite-to-edible-oil-brand-may-hang-heavy-on-akola-firm-1990624

Crores spent on research show poor results in India

deccanchronicle reports:

Despite  the hue and cry over lack of research funding, crores of rupees are pumped into Research and Development every year with results that are nothing to write home about.

A new analysis of innovation patents filed by Indian inventors in comparison to other countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation  found that despite lesser population, lower capability and far lower R&D expenditure, strife-torn Sri Lanka had a better output than India.  

An RTI query recently revealed that while Rs 1,285 crore of funds were allocated to 14 institutions controlled by the Department of Biotechnology under the Ministry of Science and Technology, they yielded only Rs 4.7 crore of returns.

Researchers analysed patents filed at the European Patent Office, World Intellectual Property Organisation , United States Patent and Trademark Office  and respective patent offices in India, Sri Lanka and other countries over the last decade. Sri Lanka had a patent per million population ratio of 77 while that of India was 39. Worse,

India had just about one patent application per $1 million R&D expenditure while Sri Lanka had more than 9 patents per $1 million  R&D spending.