Journal of Intellectual Property Rights
VOLUME 7
NUMBER 3
MAY 2002
CONTENTS
Articles
Patenting Microorganisms: Towards Creating a Policy Framework
S Sekar and D Kandavel
211
Indigenous Knowledge and Intellectual Property Rights: The Latent Logistics
and the Overt Concerns
V Arunachalam
222
Biotechnology and Development: A Balance between IPR Protection and
Benefit-sharing
Jan Wendt and Juan Izquierdo
233
TRIPS and Public Health: The Doha Declaration
M D Nair
241
The Value of Intellectual Property, Intangible Assets and Goodwill
Kelvin King
245
Literature Review
IPR—General
249
 Protecting valuable commercial information in the digital age  IPR and
licensing  Bioinformatics in the post-genomic age  Legal uncertainty in
cyberspace: a policy proposal to deal with the international jurisdictional
 IP protection and agricultural biotechnology  Biotechnology and
international law  Plant breeding, biodiversity loss and IPR  Agricultural
biotechnology's complementary intellectual assets  Does IP protection spur
technological change?  International protection of IP Enforcing IPR
 Indigenous knowledge: A moral reflection on current legal concepts of
intellectual property  Challenges for IP law in the twenty-first century
 TRIPS, North-South trade, and biological diversity
Patents
255
 Patent protection, innovation rate and welfare  Patent scope and innovation
in the software industry
Copyright
257
 Escape from copyright: Market success vs statutory failure in the protection
of expressive works  Author's right as property: Old and new theories  The
screenwriter's indestructible right to terminate her assignment of copyright
Trademark and Domain Names
259
 On trademarks, domain names, and internal auction
IPR News And Notes
IPR News—General
260
 WCT to enter into force  PCT experience in India  India needs to create
IP protection tools to check brain drain  Muscat declaration on intellectual
property and traditional knowledge  UK one of the best government sites
 New web portal  WIPO efforts to curb cybersquatting continue  China
and Taiwan become WTO members  Indian pharma cos
Patent News
268
 One lakh PCT applications received in less than a year  India’s position in
PCT filing  IBM tops 2001 patent owner list  India cautioned against
falling into ‘patent trap’ IICT prepares list of drugs going off patent by 2005
 New US, Euro pharma patent for CSIR lab  ISRO wins patent battle to
space  Supreme Court rejects Eli Lilly's Prozac patent appeal  Xerox
writing recognition patent invalid  Sanofi Santhelabo sues Dr Reddy’s
Laboratories  IRL granted five patents  Ranbaxy gets FDA approval for
drug  Matsushita sues Cinram and Bertelsmann unit over patents  Biotech
cos settle patent suits  Akamai wins patent lawsuit against Digital
Trademark News
274
 Mahatma Gandhi gets brand name protection  Two Delhi firms barred
from using Pepsi trademark  Harsh measures vital to end fake brands
 SuSE settles trademark suit
Key Patents
277
 Method for efficiently introducing exogenous genes  Fibrin-based
biocompatible materials  Heat resistant spectacles  Ocular tissue
regeneration inducer  Genetic sequences patented  New drug delivery
system  Genetic suppressor elements  Patent on O-Vax  Detergent
granules  Improved process for manufacturing blackboard  Method for
preparation of improved glass  Improved process for ethanol  ImmunoGen
receives patent on production of DM1  Genentech granted patent relating to
recombinant DNA technology  Neurotech signs licence agreement with
Amgen
Technical Notes
282
 Intellectual property on the WEB  Community patent system in EU—A
proposal
Journal of Intellectual Property Rights
Vol 7, May 2002, pp 211-221
Patenting Microorganisms: Towards Creating a
Policy Framework
S Sekar
and
D Kandavel
(Received 1 August 201; revised 27 March 2002)
India is bound to implement new patent laws as per TRIPS by the end of 2004 along
with the provision of patenting microorganisms. In this context, the paper stresses the need of
defining microorganisms and listing out various life forms for patenting. The usage of the term
‘biological materials’ by the European Union and USPTO system of classification of
microorganisms can be referred to evolve our own system. The analysis of the Patent
Facilitating Cell (DST, Govt of India) on the issue of patenting microorganisms at the global
level revealed the trends in various countries which will help us to frame the system of patenting
microbes. Paper further hightlights the need of creating culture collection IDAs (International
Depositary Authorities) in our country too and develop codes of operation for effective
patenting with the co-ordination of IP offices and for facilitating indigeous promotion of
patenting microorganisms. Also, with the provisions of CBT and WIPO, we need to safeguard
the interests of our country and protect traditional knowledge on the use of microorganisms.
Indian machinery of patenting has to be geared up and also tuned to cope up with the new trend
of patenting life. The strategies and policies to be adopted at present are further highlighted.
Journal of Intellectual Property Rights
Vol 7, May 2002, pp 222-232
Indigenous Knowledge and Intellectual Property Rights: The
Latent Logistics and the Overt Concerns
V Arunachalam
(Received 27 December 2001)
Awareness of indigenous knowledge (IK) and concerns of protecting it are growing
over time. Most of the IK descends from ancient tradition and would need a proper validation
and documentation. IK is found in a wide variety of areas, but this paper covers only
agricultural crops. There are provisions in the Plant Variety Protection and Farmers’ Rights Bill,
2000, for registration of farmer-varieties with associated protection and benefit sharing but
exclusive provisions for IK protection possibly remains to be focused. Indigenous genetic
wealth (IGW), on the other hand, consists of herbs, medicinal plants, landraces of a variety of
plant species and such genetic resources. The expression of the characteristic traits of IGW is
highly site-specific. To meet the commercial demands of protected IGW, their genetic purity
has to be maintained. This would imply maintaining their site-specific trait expression and
therefore conservation at their native habitats. Further IK and IGW are tightly linked and cannot
be isolated for protection; they must be treated as one integrated unit. These perceptions, the
emerging problems and paradigms are discussed in this paper.
Journal of Intellectual Property Rights
Vol 7, May 2002, pp 233-240
Biotechnology and Development: A Balance between IPR
Protection and Benefit-sharing
Jan Wendt and Juan Izquierdo
(Received 8 March 2002)
The paper discusses various aspects of protection of agricultural innovations specially
after the applications of biotechnology have taken place in the agricultural research. Describes
the relevant article of TRIPS Agreement in respect of agricultural innovations and new
problems of their protection.Apart from protecting innovations, the access to genetic resources
is another basic aspect affecting biotechnology as new tool for the conservation and sustainable
use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. Paper describes the international
framework for IPR related to genetic resources and access to these resources. The legal tools
available with the Latin American region for protection of IPR, access to genetic resources and fair
distribution of benefit are described and the problems faced in achieving these goals are
identified. Several suggestions for improving the performance of the system of protection of
access to genetic resources and protection of IPR are given.
Journal of Intellectual Property Rights
Vol 7, May 2002, pp 241-244
TRIPS and Public Health: The Doha Declaration
M D Nair
(Received 28 January 2002)
The Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health has very little new matter. It is
rather areiteration of the fundamental tenets embodied in the TRIPS Agreement. Increased
flexibility for interpretation and implementation by the members is the cardinal feature of the
new document. India needs to evaluate all the implications of the provisions of the new
Declaration and through appropriate legislations ensure that maximum benefits accrue to the
Indian industry and the public.
Journal of Intellectual Property Rights
Vol 7, May 2002, pp 245-248
The Value of Intellectual Property, Intangible
Assets and Goodwill†
Kelvin King
(Received 4 April 2002)
The paper discusses intellectual capital valuation concepts, methods and procedures
adopted to apply credible value to intellectual property. Three broad categories of valuation
methods, viz.: market based, cost based and based on estimates of future economic benefits are
described briefly.