Country Reports March 2013

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Country: INDIAPeriod of Report: March 2013
  1. In November 2012 India saw a landmark public health decision on the evolving role of intellectual property rights in the context of the public interest. The country’s Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) revoked a patent granted in India to F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG (Roche) for pegylated interferon alfa-2a (Pegasys), a medicine used to treat Hepatitis C citing obviousness and lack of evidence that the drug was better than existing treatments available in the market.
  2. In December 2012 a Private Members Bill seeking amendment to the present Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003 was introduced in the Lok Sabha. The proposed Bill, namely, The Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Amendment Bill 2012, asks for plain packaging of cigarettes and other tobacco products If this bill is passed, WTO proceedings as well as a constitutional challenge under Art 300A of the Indian Constitution by the tobacco companies for deprivation of their IP rights without adequate compensation may be instituted.
  3. The office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks (CGPDTM) has launched Online Public Search Facility for Geographical Indication Applications available at www.ipindia.nic.in/.
  4. The office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks has published the guide lines for processing of patent applications relating to Traditional knowledge and Biological matter available at www.ipindia.nic.in/.
  5. A list of Well Known Trademarks has been published by the office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks available at www.ipindia.nic.in/.
  6. India has signed the Nagoya Protocol on 11 May 2011 and ratified it on 09 October 2012. To further strengthen the collaboration between India and Africa, The Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt. of India hosted a capacity building workshop on Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing and Traditional Knowledge; and (ii) Nagoya-Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress on 11 to 13 February 2013, in Bangalore, India
  7. The 2012 International Property Rights index (IPRI) an annual international comparative study on intellectual property rights and their protection around the world has ranked India in the 55th place among 130 countries

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Country: PAKISTANPeriod of Report: March 2013
  1. The Pakistan Senate has unanimously passed ‘The Intellectual Property Organization of Pakistan Bill, 2012’ in November 2012 which had already been passed by the National Assembly. It will now become an Act of parliament after the Bill is signed by the President.
  2. The 2012 International Property Rights index (IPRI) has ranked Pakistan in the 112th place among 130 countries.

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Country: NEPALPeriod of Report: March 2013
  1. The 2012 International Property Rights index (IPRI) has ranked Nepal in the 98th place among 130 countries.

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Country: SRI LANKAPeriod of Report: March 2013
  1. In first week the of October 2012 the Sri Lankan Supreme Court ruled that importing genuine Hewlett-Packard products through alternative distribution sources does not infringe provisions of country’s Intellectual Property laws that permit parallel imports. This decision has handed a boost to business which profit from parallel imports
  2. The 2012 International Property Rights index (IPRI) has ranked SriLanka in the 41st place among 130 countries.

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Country: BANGLADESHPeriod of Report: March 2013
  1. The Department of Patents, Designs and Trademarks (DPDT), an agency under the industries ministry, has issued 759 trademark registrations to the local companies in 2012, up by 86.48 percent from the previous-year. Only 1,775 trademark registrations were issued by the IP right administrator to the local companies in the last five years.
  2. The 2012 International Property Rights index (IPRI) has ranked Bangladesh in the 125th place among 130 countries.