Country Reports September 2010

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 Country: INDIAPeriod of Report: September 2010
  1. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry issued a new notification regarding preliminary draft of the Patents (Appeals and Applications to the Intellectual Property Appellate Board) Rules, 2010. The draft rules are meant to address, procedural provisions regarding appeals, applications, condonation of delay in filing appeal and fees etc.[Copy of Draft rules enclosed]
  2. As a part of ongoing IPR reforms, Department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) has allocated budget of nearly 500 crores for IPR-related projects which includes setting up of special courts and train judges to handle intellectual property rights (IPR) cases. The reforms are yet to be officially announced.
  3. India and Singapore on May 4, 2010 signed an agreement to facilitate easier market access of generic drugs into the south-east Asian countries.
  4. The Indian Patent office has now made available online list of ‘Scientific Advisors’ who can advise Courts on the scientific and technical aspects of patent litigation. [List of Scientific Advisors enclosed]
  5. The upper house of Parliament, the Rajya Sabha, has passed the Trademarks Amendment Bill, 2009, on the 10th of August, 2010.[Copy of the bill enclosed]
  6. The Ministry of Science and Technology will bring in changes to the ‘Protection and Utilization of Public Funded Intellectual Property Bill, 2008’ after a panel of lawmakers has drastically revised the draft law, relaxing patenting norms for their inventions and giving the government more control over them.
  7. The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has recently sought to address concerns regarding market availability of low price life saving drugs by way of reviewing the provisions relating to compulsory licensing which is enshrined in the Indian IP regime.
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Country: SRI LANKAPeriod of Report: September 2010
  1. The working document for Breeders rights law has come under severe criticism, since it is detrimental to the lives of local farmers. The paper is pending since 2007 and it is not available to the public to comment.
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 Country: BANGLADESHPeriod of Report:
  1. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on July 19, 2010 urged the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) for another fifteen years’ waiver of Bangladeshi pharmaceuticals from intellectual property rights regime.
  2. Intellectual Property Rights Project is a technical assistance project of Bangladesh, funded by EU, WIPO & GOB. The project will be implemented by the WIPO on behalf of the EU. The Dept. of Patents, Designs & Trade marks would be responsible for execution on behalf of the GOB. The full technical support would be provided by the WIPO. The objective of the project is to strengthen national capacity of Bangladesh to develop & modernize the IP system of Bangladesh. The total cost of which EU contribution is 1.20 Million Euro, WIPO will contribute 0.12 Million Euro and rest amount from GOB side.