Summary:
Was Facebook’s idea for creating Facebook, a steal? We briefly discuss this case study here and take you little deeper on the importance and impact of Patents registration. We also give a brief idea on the legal front of what registration of Patent would mean for you as Owner of the Intellectual Property, and how that can be used to grow.
We delve deeper into the concept of intellectual property and patent rights, as well as their impact in the real world.
In our earlier blog, we discussed about what exactly is a patent right, the need to register a patent, implications of non-filing of patent rights and the evolution of concept patent rights in India.
Now let’s look at a couple of exciting patent related real life cases that the world has noticed.
Facebook (Now Meta)
In March 2018, BlackBerry sued Facebook over patent infringement, alleging that the social media giant had used BlackBerry’s technology in its messaging apps without permission. It alleged that Facebook’s Messenger and WhatsApp apps infringe on these patents. The dispute got settled in 2021 pursuant to a confidential agreement. However, the settlement amount was not disclosed in public domain.
Earlier to this, Facebook has also lost to ConnectU paying $65 million as Settlement price against the idea stealing dispute of creating profile of friends and connecting them over internet. This case has its roots way back in 2004 and took a substantial screen time from the Oscar winning movie – The Social Network.
Bajaj Auto Ltd. Vs TVS Motor Company Ltd
One of the landmark patent related decisions in domestic automobile industry. In 2016, Bajaj Auto Ltd. filed a patent infringement case against TVS Motor Company Ltd. in the Delhi High Court. The case was in relation to a clutchless gear shifting technology that Bajaj claimed was developed by its engineers and was patented by the company. TVS Motor Company Ltd. had been using this technology in its bikes for some time and Bajaj argued that TVS was infringing on its patent rights. The Court agreed with Bajaj and issued an injunction against TVS, prohibiting it from using the clutchless gear shifting technology in its bikes. This ruling was a big win for Bajaj, as it not only prevented TVS from using the technology, but also prevented other companies from using it as well. This was a major blow to TVS, which had to recall all of its bikes that were equipped with the clutchless gear shifting technology and stop selling them.
So can it be said, given the significance of filing a patent as discussed in our earlier blog, registering your invention with an appropriate regulatory authority will allow you to sit back and relax..?
The concept of patenting has made protection of IPs much simple over the period of time but not so much as it shows up. Patentees in India may face a number of issues when seeking to protect their ideas or patents. First, there is a lack of awareness among the general public about the existence of patent rights and the remedies available to patentees. Second, there is a lack of effective enforcement mechanisms, both at the government and private levels. Third, there is a lack of awareness among judges and lawyers about the intricacies of patent law. Fourth, there is a lack of adequate financial resources available to patentees to enforce their rights.
All these factors combine to make it very difficult for patentees in India to effectively enforce their infringement rights. As a result, many patentees simply give up on trying to enforce their rights and instead focus on other avenues for commercialising their inventions.
There are additional reasons why it has been difficult to effectively enforce patent rights in India. In the paragraphs that follow, we’ll examine a few of those:-
1.
Substantive validity : In India, there is no central registry for patents, so it can be difficult to determine whether a prior art search has been conducted properly. Additionally, the Indian Patents Act does not require Novelty or Inventiveness as prerequisites for patentability, which means that some patents which would be invalid in other countries may be considered valid in India.
2.
Enforcement : Even if a patent is found to be valid, enforcing it can be difficult in India. We have a “first-to-file” system, meaning that the first person to file a patent application for an invention is typically considered the rightful owner of the patent. This can create problems for foreign companies who are not familiar with the Indian system and may have filed their applications later than Indian companies.
3.
Lapse Rights : Another major issue is the lapse of patent rights. In India, a patent right lapses if the patentee does not pay the annual maintenance fee within the grace period of six months from the due date.
4.
Infringement Proceedings : Finally, another issue faced by patentees in India is that of infringement proceedings, as it can be initiated by any person who believes that his or her rights have been infringed by a patented invention. However, these proceedings are often complex and time-consuming, and can result in loss of significant resources of the patentee.
Will the aforementioned setbacks, patents in India carry outweigh the benefits they offer..??
It cannot be true in any logic, and rightfully so since unregistered IPs would ultimately cost businesses dearly as they leave businesses vulnerable to competitors who may copy or reverse-engineer their products and ideas without repercussions. This can lead to a loss in market share and a decrease in profits by loss of potential licensing revenues. Further, businesses without registered patents may have difficulty enforcing their rights if another party does infringe upon them.
Additionally, unregistered patents may be considered “public domain” in some jurisdictions, making them freely available for anyone to use. This could significantly diminish the value of the invention and they may be considered invalid if they are challenged in court, meaning that the business would have wasted time and resources pursuing something that was never legally theirs to begin with.
You would have figured out by now, that there are enough grounds to consider that patents could offer individuals and businesses a significant benefit and a better return on investment when developing novel technologies. Patenting requires a well-informed knowledge that connects corporate goals with a wide range of possibilities in the search for when, where and how to patent. Notwithstanding the fact that this article has given you the essence of patents, experience and knowledge are always beneficial in their practical application. And we have got you covered with our specialized professionals in intellectual properties while you are just a few clicks away.
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