India’s Cell for IPR Promotion and Management Launches Intellectual Property Activity Book for Children

INTA is pleased to announce that India’s Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM) has published Let’s Have Fun with IP, which offers 10 engaging activities designed to introduce children to intellectual property (IP) and encourages them to take an interest in IP rights.

As explained in its introduction, the activity book “can be used by faculty and trainers in their demonstrations, presentations, and extended lectures to help students, academicians, inventors, entrepreneurs, and professionals to understand the fundamentals of IP in a better way. The module breaks the conventional monotonous system of training and education by using an interactive learning methodology.”

INTA played an instrumental role in the production of this booklet, and the Association would like to thank INTA members Meera Chature Sankhari (Jupiter Law Partners, India) and Bisman Kaur (Remfry & Sagar, India) for creating engaging activities for this booklet. INTA also thanks the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade and CIPAM for providing the opportunity to participate in this valuable contribution to children’s IP education and awareness.

INTA Attends IDEX Legal 16th Edition of Legal Counsel Congress 2019

INTA India Consultant Gauri Kumar spoke at the 16th Edition of Legal Counsel Congress 2019, held April 12 in Mumbai, India. The event, organized by IDEX Legal (India), was designed to help in-house departments achieve greater operational excellence and become integral business partners for the corporates they represent.

Ms. Kumar participated in a panel discussion titled “Intellectual India: Industry-Wise Analysis of Strengths and Weakness of IP System in India,” which explored the challenges faced by businesses due to, or in spite of, the proliferation of legislation covering various IP assets across industries.

The panel, which also included INTA members Amit Thukral (Lupin, India), Anusuya Nigam (Singh & Singh, India), and Ayan Roy Chowdhury (Sony Pictures Entertainment, India), was moderated by Sudha Hooda (Nvidia Graphics India). The panel focused on IP rights regulations in India pertaining to copyright, patents, and trademarks-as well as key challenges of counterfeiting and piracy faced by the pharmaceutical and entertainment industries.

Addressing the topic of counterfeiting in India, Ms. Kumar raised the issue of Section 115(4) of the Trademarks Act, and spoke about INTA’s advocacy initiatives, which call for an appropriate legislative amendment to make the country’s criminal enforcement of trademark rights more efficient.

First Quarter Corporate Member Meeting Held at Sun Pharmaceuticals Mumbai Headquarters

INTA member Sun Pharmaceuticals hosted INTA’s first quarterly Corporate Member meeting of 2019 on March 29 at their offices in Mumbai, India.

At this meeting, Darius Dalal (Jehangir Gulabbhai & Bilimoria & Daruwalla, India) presented on the 2018 Trademark and IP Landmark Case Law Review. The review examined some of last year’s landmark judgments, including those related to well-known marks, liability of intermediaries for infringement of trademarks, and habitual infringement.

INTA’s Corporate Member meetings provide the Association’s corporate members in India with regular opportunities to gain educational insights and updates on the Association’s initiatives-as well as to discuss and address their common concerns with their in-house counterparts.

INTA Attends IP Rights Stakeholder Consultation Organized by the National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes and Narcotics

INTA attended a stakeholder consultation on IP rights violations, with a focus on the effects on small-scale industries and measures to curb those effects. The event took place on March 26 and was hosted by the Centre of Excellence, which, under the supervision of Director General of NACIN, is mandated to provide intellectual support to the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, as well as prepare the department to meet existing and evolving challenges in various fields, including IP rights.

The event addressed several IP issues and challenges, including the impact of IP rights violations on domestic industry, particularly small-scale businesses, and border and domestic IP rights enforcement measures.

By way of offering a solution to these challenges, Ms. Kumar shared INTA’s recommendation to build a central IPR Coordination Centre (IPRC). The IPRC would be a single unit of coordination among the industries affected by counterfeiting, piracy, and other IP crimes; the government officials that work to stop such activities; and the targeted public. Creating this potential IPRC in India would be a powerful deterrent to the scourge of counterfeiting and other IP crimes, Ms. Kumar stated.

Indian Cabinet Approves Proposal for Accession to the Nice Agreement on the International Classification of Goods and Services

According to a press release by the Government of India, India’s Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved a proposal for the accession of India to (1) the Nice Agreement concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the purposes of registration of marks; (2) the Vienna Agreement establishing an International Classification of the figurative elements of marks; and (3) the Locarno Agreement establishing an international classification for industrial designs.

According to the press release, accession to these agreements “will help the Intellectual Property Office in India to harmonise the classification systems for examinational of trademark and design applications, in line with the classification systems followed globally.”

Although every effort has been made to verify the accuracy of items in the INTA Bulletin, readers are urged to check independently on matters of specific concern or interest.