Around the IP Blogs

The SpicyIP Blog reported on what may well be one of the first covid-related IP cases. In that case , an Indian pharma company, Indoco, approached the Delhi High Court requesting permission to sale a drug, used as anticoagulant medication, for covid-19 treatment. Such sales had previously been prohibited by the court as part of an ongoing patent infringement lawsuit, initiated by the Indoco’s competitor, BMS. Indoco, invoked “public interest” grounds to justify the sales, but the court denied lifting the temporary injunction. 

The French Tribunal Judiciaire de Paris has awarded record damages, in the amount to €28,000,000, in the Eli Lilly v. Fresenius Kabi case. The The Comparative Patent Remedies blog and the EPLaw blog have both commented on this decision by the first instance court. The EPLaw blog has also prepared an English translation of the judgment. 

The Juve Patent Blog shared an interview with Rainer Engels, former judge of the German Federal Patent Court. Engels expressed his views about the structural reforms required in the German system, the length of proceedings, and how the Unified Patent Court (or its lack of existence) may have influenced developments in Germany. 

McDonald’s and Burger King are once again opposing parties in a trade mark infringement action, this time in Australia [check this IPKat’s post on EUTM “BIG MAC”]. The Techdirt shared the details of this lawsuit, where MacDonald’s claims that Burger King’s “Big Jack” sandwich is infringing its “Big Mac” trade mark. 

The IPTango Blog brought the news of a website, launched by Ecuador’s National Service of Intellectual Rights, and dedicated to the Marrakesh Treaty, to facilitate access to published works for persons who are blind, visually impaired or otherwise print disabled. 

Kluwer Trademark Blog discussed India’s application to register Basmati rice as a protected geographical indication within the European Union. The post includes anoverview of how ‘Basmati’ is protected in India f, followed by some reflections regarding why and how India is now seeking to protect “Basmati” in the European Union. 

Last week, the EUIPO Observatory held a virtual stakeholders meeting. Marques reported on this two-day event, briefly summarizing the main findings of the speakers, which which included high officials from the EUIPO and the European Anti-Fraud Office as well as national judges.