ANOTHER MILESTONE ACHEVIDED BY FICCI-DIPP CONSULTATIVE WORKING GROUP - PRE-GRANT OPPOSITION PROCESS SREAMLINED

This is further to the news item which appeared in the “The Hindu Business Line.” The non-uniformity in the practice being adopted by each patent office with regard to pre-grant opposition procedures is no more a worry for the opponents representing NGOs, Health care groups, industry, competitors, researchers and other stakeholders. As a result of the proposal made by FICCI-DIPP Consultative Working Group, the Controller General of Patents has issued administrative instructions to all patent offices in India to furnish a copy of the applicant’s reply to the opponent if he has made the request and has paid prescribed fee. This Order of the Controller General is timely and has come as a great sigh of relief for the stakeholders who were so far staggering under the weight of non-uniform practices. The problem underlying the procedural aspect are the uneven practices being followed by the officials at each patent office with regard to providing to the opponent an access to the patent applicant’s reply contesting pre-grant opposition. The reason behind this non-uniformity across and within the patent offices is that the Indian Patents Act is completely silent about this issue. FICCI and DIPP are working synergistically in bringing more consistency in the procedures being followed by the officials of patent office. For any further clarification on this matter you may contact Sheetal Chopra, Senior Assistant Director, FICCI-IPR Division at sheetal.chopra@ficci.com, 011-23766930.

UPCOMING FICCI-DIPP-WIPO Conference for Industry and Policy makers

Pls. note that Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in association with World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Government of India is organizing a Conference on Development and Intellectual Property (IP): Building Synergies with Policy Makers and Industry at Taj Exotica, Goa from September 1 to 3, 2008. This conference is meant for Industry Leaders, IP professionals/Experts, Legal practitioner and Policy makers. It would be worth attending this conference in case you wish to know about the issues of concern to the Industry and about the steps Government is taking to address them; to get an international flavor of experiences with respect to IP laws and sectoral issues (such as pharmaceuticals, IT, etc.); to learn about the strategies and best practices being adopted by stakeholders in using IP as a business tool. This conference also aims to highlight the emerging issues in effective enforcement of IP issues & strategies/emerging technologies to combat the menace of counterfeiting and piracy. The details about the conference, participation fees, boarding & lodging in Goa have been provided in the attached Brochure. This is the tentative Programme copy and the registration form. For further information you can touch base with Sheetal Chopra (sheetal.chopra@ficci.com), Senior Assistant Director – FICCI IPR Division or P L Sharma (plsharma@ficci.com), Executive Assistant (Ph: 23738760-70 Extn. 212, Direct: 23736306).