PATENTS

AND
INTERNATIONAL TRADE

By Group -6
Kaushik Ranjan Kashyap
Manish Shahi
Mamata dalei
Monika Ghosh
Nilanjan Bagchi
INTRODUCTION
• The term patent usually refers to a right granted to anyone
who invents or discovers any new and useful process,
machine, article of manufacture, or composition of matter,
or any new and useful improvement thereof.

• A patent must include one or more claims defining the

invention which must be new, non-obvious,
and useful or industrially applicable.

• This report provides background on intellectual property

rights (IPR) and discusses the role of international trade
policy in enhancing IPR protection and enforcement
abroad
 OBJECTIVES
1. Global Intellectual property scenario

2. Delineating patents under various types, i.e.

3. Companies utilizing the IP System to develop business or
Increase Economic Activity

4. Impact of licensing, technology transfer, nanotechnology,

R&D, innovations &patent on international trade.
5. International Conflict over the Commodification of Life
(BAJAJ AUTO LTD. Vs. T.V.S. MOTOR COMPANY LTD. - A CASE STUDY)
 Global Intellectual property scenario

The patent office of the United States of America, which consistently issued the
highest number of patents since 1998, was overtaken in 2007 by the patent office of
Japan. The patent office of China replaced the European Patent Office as the fourth
largest office in terms of issuing grants. The five largest patent offices accounted
for 74.4% of total patent grants.
 Continued..

Of the top 20 patent offices, the patent offices of Canada (23.9%), Australia
(19.2%), China (17.6%) and Japan (16.7%) had the largest increase in the
number of patent grants during 2006 and 2007. The patent offices of France,
Germany, the United Kingdom and the European Patent Office had a
considerable decrease in the number of patent grants.
 Delineating patents under various types

• Indian patenting activity in international and domestic

patent system was commissioned by the Office of the
Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India
(PSA office) to the National Institute of Science,
Technology and Development Studies (NISTADS), New
Delhi.
 Entity-wise (Indian organizations, foreign R&D centres in
India, resident individuals).
 Proprietary protections (utility, design, plant patents)
 Organization-wise (industry, research organizations,
specialized institutions, etc.)
 Industrial sector-wise, category-wise (process/ product), etc.
 Continued….

 Entity-wise :-
Indian organizations-669(50% of total)
Foreign R&D entities-273(26% of total)
 Proprietary protections:-Patenting is possible in three
categories in the US.
 Continued…

 Category-wise patents:-
Process patents-336 patents.
product patents-148 patents.
 Organization-wise:-
 Impact of trading components in International trade

• Patent
• Licensing
• Technology Transfer
• Nanotechnologies
• R&D
• Innovations
Impact of Patent and R & D

• The advantages of the universal patent regime is that

private venture capital firms become willing to invest in
technology based start up companies.
• patents are important for chemicals and particularly for
pharmaceuticals basically because of the huge R&D costs
incurred by the firms.
• More often small firms shy away from investing in R&D
because; financial risk is too high as there are more
possibilities of failure than success.
• So in India the R & D investment has been very low and
started picking up only in the early ‘90s .
Impact of patent, licensing and technology
transfer
• A sizeable level of technology currently available is due to
developing an alternative process that is very close to the
existing one.
• This is the reason why the actual technology in a patent is
often kept as a trade secret and which leads to entering in
to a separate licensing agreement with the innovator for
the transfer of that technology.
• Which leads to increase in R&D expenses.
• Fear of competition also dissuades the transfer of
technology or demands a high royalty for the transfer, but
huge royalties may have a negative impact on the
expenditure on R&D.
 Impact of Nanotechnology and Innovation

• Presently, nanotechnology is mostly confined to R&D

efforts taking place in laboratories around the world.
• The negative implications of nanotechnology have been
sidelined at the moment with governments and other
agencies keen on boosting, aiding and promoting
nanotechnology on a larger scale.
• For those countries classified as technological leaders and
potential leaders, the effect of technological innovation on
exports is always positive, and this effect is magnified by
technological improvements.
• Hence where is innovation ,there is positive international
trade.
 BAJAJ AUTO LTD. Vs. T.V.S. MOTOR COMPANY LTD.
- A PATENT CASE STUDY

• The case involves the issues of patent infringement.

• According to the Bajaj Auto Limited , it was granted Indian
Patent titled “An Improved Internal combustion engine
working on four stroke principle
• In the patent, the invention by the bajaj called “DTS-i
Technology" was relating to the use of twin spark plugs for
efficient combustion .
• TVS Motor Company Limited announces launch of 125-CC
'FLAME‘.
• The motorcycle was powered with a lean burn internal
combustion engine of bore size 54.5 mm with a twin spark
plug configuration, which according to the Bajaj Auto Ltd.,
infringes its patent.
Case continues…
• TVS also filed the suit before the Madras High Court
alleging that the statement made by Bajaj constituted a
groundless threat
• Madras High Court held that Bajaj had not succeeded in
providing enough evidence to support the case of
infringement in respect of its patented twin spark
technology
• The court also observed that the operation of the invention
as claimed by the Bajaj appears to be plug centric and that
of TVS was valve centric
• Later TVS was entitled to sell its motorcycle ‘Flame’.
RECOMMENDATIONS
• Patent data in the IPO by resident and non-resident
inventors should be computerized and made available on-
line.
• Lack of patenting activity by Indian organizations in areas
of ‘Computer and Communications’ and ‘Electronics’.
should be addressed.
• Organizations should evolve their own IPR policy. This
policy should be able to guide an organization in IPR
creation, management and deriving economic benefits and
other returns.