News
Patents – Anticipation by prior claiming and patentability under Section 3(d)
19 October 2020
In a recent update in the pharmaceutical sector, the Intellectual Property Appellate Board allowed the appeal filed by Pfizer Products Inc., an American multinational pharmaceutical corporation, under Section 117A of the Patents Act, 1970 against the impugned order passed by the Controller of Patents & Designs on September 3, 2015, in respect of Patent Application No. 00991/MUMNP/2003 (‘IN’991’), and directed that the said application be granted by the Indian Patent Office (IPO).
Fraudulent websites – AMUL obtains temporary injunction
16 October 2020
The Delhi High Court has passed a partly ex-parte ad-interim order on August 28, 2020 which was further modified on September 08, 2020 against certain defendants running deceptive websites, restraining them from the unauthorised use of the well-known trademark ‘AMUL’, as a prefix or suffix in their domain names.
Stamp duty on property lease – No difference between property owned by Government and private person
15 October 2020
The Bombay High Court has rejected the contention of the stamp duty authorities that as the leased property was owned by Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, the market value of the said property cannot be decided and hence stamp duty needs to be paid on 100% of the amount paid for the lease instead of 90% of the market value as contemplated under Article 36(iv) of Schedule I to the Maharashtra Stamp Act, 1958.
Trademark infringement – Interlocutory injunction cannot be granted merely on basis of public interest
12 October 2020
In a case where by an ad interim Order injunction was granted against manufacture and sale of APIXABID product, and where the appeal against that ad interim order was pending in the Court, the Appellate Division Bench of the Delhi High Court has dismissed the interlocutory application by the defendant to permit them to sell 58,000 strips of the said medicine, manufactured by the applicant/defendant prior to the passing of the interim order.
Goods and Services Tax (GST) – Relaxations effective October 2020
01 October 2020
Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (‘CBIC’) has on September 30 issued number of notifications to relax or defer certain GST provisions. Some of the important changes worth noticing are, deferment of annual returns for FY 2018-19, relaxation in e-invoicing provisions for a month, deferment of dynamic QR Code for B2C transactions, and extension of exemption to service of transportation of export goods by aircraft/vessel.
Rate of duty when notification issued on same date when bills of entry presented
28 September 2020
Observing that the self-assessment was carried out based on the rate of duty which prevailed at the time of the presentation of the bill of entry, the Supreme Court has upheld the High Court’s Orders setting aside re-assessments, by the Customs department, due to a notification issued later on the date of presenting of bill of entry, enhancing the rate of duty.
Patents – Divisional application when cannot be rejected
16 September 2020
The IPAB has set aside the Order of the Controller of Patents rejecting the divisional application under Patents Act, 1970. The Board observed that the Controller erred in not appreciating that it was technically impracticable to make compound of formula (I) dependent on the main claim of the parent application, which was directed towards compound of formula (III). It observed that it was settled that when an independent sub-claim cannot be made dependent on the main claim...
Transfer of property – Procedural way out for removal of encumbrances
10 September 2020
The Kerala High Court has explained the procedural way out for removal of an encumbrance from an immovable property under Section 57 of the Transfer of Property Act 1882 (‘TPA’). It is noteworthy that an operative, substantive and procedural way out to facilitate the realisation of the intrinsic value of encumbered estates and other immovable properties within the annals of TPA is very rarely been invoked in court of law.
Anti-dumping duty – Action of Designated Authority asking for contemporary data, correct
04 September 2020
The Supreme Court of India has upheld the action of the Designated Authority (“DA”) in the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), requiring the domestic industry to furnish relatively contemporary data. Relying on the guidelines contained in the Manual of Operation for Trade Remedy Investigations (Period of Investigation and Injury Investigation period), the Apex Court set aside the impugned order of the Telangana High Court and held that the DA’s action could not be termed as arbitrary.
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) – Clarifications on investment, etc.
25 August 2020
Reiterating a recent clarification by Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has clarified that the value of plant and machinery or equipment for all purposes of the Notification No. S.O. 2119(E) dated June 26, 2020 and for all the enterprises shall mean the Written Down Value (WDV) as at the end of the Financial Year as defined in the Income Tax Act, 1961 and not cost of acquisition or original price.