Country Reports November 27, 2008

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 Country: INDIAPeriod of Report: November 2008
  1. Indian Government is working on a new detailed Manual for processing applications for Patent rights and has conducted Stakeholders meeting in various cities to receive comments before finalizing the same.
  2. Indian Patent Office is planning to computerize all Patent records before January 2009.
  3. Effective January 2008, Indian Patent Office has been recognized as an International Search Authority and International Preliminary Examining Authority for PCT Applications.
  4. The Registrar of Trademarks has maintained that the name of Mountains is not acceptable as Trademark for Registration of Agricultural and Natural Products. This was in furtherance to the ruling of the Delhi High Court case relating to the names ‘Himalaya’ [Registered by the Tata Group as a Trademark] and the name ‘Mount Everest’.
  5. Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) has lost case against a Company [Khoday India Ltd.] which was using Trademark ‘Peter Scott’. The SWA has attempted to Register Scotch Whisky as a Geographical Indication in India.
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Country: PAKISTANPeriod of Report: November 2008
Talks between India and Pakistan over possible Registration of Basmati Rice jointly as a Geographical Indication ended inconclusively in November at Islamabad. However, both Countries have agreed to continue dialogue in the first Quarter of 2009 in New Delhi.
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Country: BANGLADESHPeriod of Report: November 2008
Pharmaceutical and Health Care Report Quarter 3, 2008 estimates that the Country’s Pharmaceutical market would have a compounded Annual Growth rate of 18.79% through to 2012. The Report also mentions that the greatest challenge facing the Industry is the end of the Patent free regime in 2016.