Intellectual Property Rights

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Exclusive Interview with Dr Mahalaxmi Andheria, Vice President- Intellectual Property Cell,Panacea Biotec Ltd

This section is an initiative by Origiin, which introduces latest innovations and valuable expert opinions on protection, exploitation of Intellectual property, by Intellectual Property experts to provide inspiration to the readers and also make our readers aware about the emerging technologies, products and innovations. This section also aims at bringing out the importance of patent protection and the way such innovations make difference in evolution of technological progress. 

In this issue, we are extremely happy to publish interview of Dr Mahalaxmi Andheria, Vice President- Intellectual Property Cell,Panacea Biotec Ltd. Dr. Mahalaxmi Andheria brings with her an experience of more than 15 years from the Pharma& Biotech Industry. She has been actively involved in Formulation R&D for 5 years before she decided to switch to IPR and thereafter IPR has been her primary area of focus. In her present association with Panacea Biotec since the last 10 years, she has been instrumental in managing the IPR Department consisting of specialists in diverse fields including biological (vaccines and biosimilars), pharmaceutical &synthetic chemistry area. She has established a seamless collaboration with Business Development and R&D expanding the horizon of her department beyond traditional IPR, broadening the outlook into portfolio planning, strategizing innovation and through creative participation in collaborations.

In addition, Dr. Andheria actively engages in dialogue with policy makers in an effort to contribute towards the development of a robust and balanced National IP Policy in India.Dr. Andheria is a PhD in Pharmaceutics from ICT (former UDCT, Mumbai) and a post-doctorate from University of Cincinnati, USA.

Here are the excerpts of the exclusive interview with her:

Origiin: It is a great pleasure for us to interact with you and publish your thoughts in this interview.

Dr Mahalaxmi: It is my pleasure too. Thanks for contacting.

Origiin: You have been associated with IP for the last 15 years for some of the most respectable pharmaceutical organizations like Sun Pharma and Panacea Biotec in the core areas of IP. How fulfilling the experience has been?

Dr Mahalaxmi: It has been the most enriching experience for me. I am glad to be in this field of IPR, which is an integral part of Organizations like Sun Pharma and Panacea. IPR is a diverse and very interesting field, especially the area of innovation, protection and enforcement and strategizing early market entry path. It gives an opportunity to collaborate with R&D and Business Development departments and contribute in product development from idea generation until commercialization.

Origiin: What are your thoughts on IP workforce available in the market currently? Are they ready to perform all type of IP tasks such as searches, drafting the application, prosecution and litigation?

Dr Mahalaxmi: Current IP workforce available in market is more competitive, skilled and literate professionals. This can be attributed to early stage education in IPR, on line and post graduate certificate courses in IPR, increased awareness & a competitive environment in this domain. There is opportunity and expertise available in this field to handle patent landscape, patent search, patent drafting and prosecution. However, the expertise in patent challenges, especially invalidation of patents and effective management of patent litigations is still limited and this skill set needs to be developed. IP Valuation and Management is another area that needs better understanding & experts.

Origiin: How important is IP valuation and IP audit for a pharmaceutical company?

Dr Mahalaxmi: IP Valuation and IP Audit are two most important aspects of IP Management for an Innovation based Pharmaceutical Company. Strategic deployment of IP assets enables companies to improve their competitive advantages in the market place. IP valuation is an important tool to analyze company’s intellectual assets related to strategic market valuation and growth projections, gain increased market share, earn high profitability and create high perceived value during licensing and strategic partnerships. IP Audit on other hand help in patent life cycle management, enforcing and defending IP rights, systematic review and associated risk mitigation of the IP assets, which enables earn revenues for the enterprise.

Origiin: The patent policy pursued by India enabled it to become a big international player in the generic drug market. Would you like to say anything with regard to this?

Dr Mahalaxmi: The harmonization process from the beginning of Rajgopala Ayyangar Committee in 1950’s till date, has revised the IP Law to suit the Pharma Industry in India. India discontinued the product patent system and only process patents were allowed with the 1970 patent policy. The outcome was that India emerged as a major player in the International generic drugs market, especially in the area of generic AIDS drugs, wherein India became the most affordable exporter to Africa. India is now known as the ‘Pharmacy of the Developing World’.

This was essential then, during the Industrialization phase, for economic growth. Now for sustaining this growth and for our future, it is important to promote innovations and research & development and I would say that we have now rightly moved on to a more progressive patent policy with the 2005 patent amendment, retaining the right balance of protection and affordability. The next decade growth and development of Indian Pharma Industry will be interesting to watch out for.

Origiin: Indian Pharma industry is in favour of ‘compulsory licensing’ of drugs to improve access of essential medicines to the Third World, which does not go well with the western Pharma world. What is your say with regard to this?

Dr Mahalaxmi: Too much has been written and debated on this most controversial topic of Compulsory License (CL) which opened up a plethora of (unwanted) questioning and criticism on India’s patent policies. I just hope that this does not lead to a cascading reverse outcome for future CL applications in India, a glimpse of which we have already seen in the Dasatinib CL matter. My personal view is that, if used discretely and with proper justification and within the ambit of the governing laws and procedures, then it can be an effective tool for a developing country like India, to foster innovation and to promote generics. It is a flexibility provided under TRIPS so it’s only a question of effectively utilizing it in the right way. I think it just got hammered too much and was given too much attention, which resulted in a negative aura around the word ‘Compulsory License’ in India. It only reminds me of the telling statement made by Justice Prabha Sridevan while upholding India’s first CL Order of Nexavar® that “Compulsory Licensing is Not a Bad Word”.

Origiin: Panacea Biotec known to be one of the largest vaccine manufacturing companies in India. Its Inactivated Polio Vaccine (eIPV) has a great commercial value. How innovation is channelized while designing these drugs for the benefit of the society?

Dr Mahalaxmi: There is no short cut to Innovation. It is a systematic and focused approach with an objective of developing safe, effective, affordable and sustainable products, for example Vaccines in this case, for the benefits of society. At Panacea, innovation is inbuilt. It is the focus and essence of our business. Our vaccine research is channelized towards helping people in the developing world to fight the diseases of importance with high quality and cost effective vaccines developed through in–house proprietary research, state of the art research facilities and ultra-modern techniques and scientific skill sets. In certain projects we operate through technology licensing and joint venture partnership routes. It goes without saying that all of these meet the requirements of National Regulatory Authorities and WHO Guidelines. Early consultation and collaboration with policy makers in developing countries help us to identify and develop essential vaccines which meet the requirements of quality, safety and affordability. Vaccine design, quality development and availability at reasonable price are our core areas.

Origiin: What is your take on recent rise in patent settlement cases in India?

Dr Mahalaxmi: Patent settlement and pay-for-delay tactics are major causes of concern in the US Pharma scenario, effectively blocking generic drug competition and availability of low-cost medicine to the public. Unfortunately, such a trend is emerging in India too. There could be some relief though as the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has taken this seriously and have issued notices to some of the companies who have chosen this path. CCI should ensure that patient access to critical drugs is not compromised and take necessary actions to stop such practices to delay launch of low cost generics in case of settlement. Additionally, such out of court settlements leave the validity issues of patents undecided midway. Hence patent settlements should be well scrutinized by relevant authorities.

Origiin: Would you like to give any advice to young aspirants trying to carve a niche for themselves in IPR?

Dr Mahalaxmi: IPR is a very interesting field. It requires specialized skill set and will keep you stimulated and motivated all the while. Develop both technical and legal skills by enrolling to requisite degrees courses. This field requires a lot of reading, searching skills, analytical mind, and a whole load of patience. Once you master it, it’s very fulfilling and enriching, and it gives immense satisfaction to be part of the team which is responsible for innovation and revenue generation for a company. Definitely, there is scope and good future in this filed.

Origiin: Thank you so much, for your valuable inputs and your time spared for Origiin. I am sure our readers will thoroughly enjoy it. Wish you best wishes for all your future endeavours.

Innovative product

My Air- A wearable gadget that empowers you to set your personal preferred “air envelop”.

If you really want to know the quality of the air that you inhale and control the environment where you breathe in then, this is the product, named “My Air” where your search ends.

My Air- a wearable gadget that helps you know the essential properties of inhaled air such as temperature, humidity, level of pollution and CO2 levels. Based on the alerts produced from this gadget, one can maintain a healthy life style by balancing and changing the environment. Such a device is a boon when we look into the number of fatal death occurs due to respiratory illness. As per the report of WHO, COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) is one of the leading causes of death. As we know it is the quality of the inhaled air that impacts our health, so it is extremely important that we should be aware of what we breathe. Sometimes, there are known specific places and environments that are hostile and not suitable for health.This gadget will help to set the preferred envelope of air. The device interacts through a user friendly App which enables us to see the data on Smartphone. Once the preferable limit of all the parameter is set, an alert will be seen on the home screen, whenever there is any deviation from the optimum range, thereby one can take the control of the environment.

So this smart product, which simply empowers us to pro-actively plan what is best for us and our family in terms of inhaled air is surely an innovative product.

For more information please visit their websitne:http:m/paqs.biz/

Interesting patent

Title of the invention: TV mute finger ring

Publication number:      US20030206393 A1

Publication type:           Application

Application number:      US 10/138,828

Publication date:          6 Nov 2003

Filing date:                  6 May 2002

Inventors:                    William Murray

ABSTRACT: TV Mute Finger Ring with a hollow C shaped finger ring housing. The housing contains the standard electronics and IR transmitting LED associated with activating the mute function of a standard TV. The housing also contains a battery type electrical power source. The C shaped ring housing has a loop type fastener strip attached to one end of the C shape and a hook type fastening panel affixed to the opposite end of the C shape so that said loop type fastener can removably attach to said hook fastener thereby forming a full ring that can be worn on the user’s forefinger. The C shaped housing contains a momentary on-off switch and attached outwardly accessible switch cover located in a position where the user’s thumb can easily reach said switch cover. The IR transmitter is covered by a transparent plastic lens that is flush with the outer surface of said C shaped housing. The plastic lens is positioned so that said lens and said IR transmitting LED are pointed outwardly in the general direction of said TV.

Exclusive Interview with Abhishek Bhagat, the youngest innovator of India

In this issue, we are extremely happy to publish the interview of Mr. Abhishek Bhagat, the youngest innovator of India to receive a number of prestigious awards including two times National Award from former president of India. Apart from being inventor, other skills like motivational speaker, entrepreneur, 3d artist, VFX artist and UI developer are some of the additional feathers in his cap. Abhishek is currently pursuing B.Sc. degree in animation and multimedia. Abhishek has been awarded many prestigious awards like INK- Fellow 2011 as Inventor; IGNITE 09 (National Innovation Foundation) award by Dr APJ Abdul Kalam; in 2011 and 2012 National Award by former president Of India Smt. Pratibha Devi Singh Patil. In July 2011 Abhishek got his name in India Book of records. Some of his most highly acclaimed inventions are–RoboCook (checkout our innovative product of the month section), Landing Stand for Space Craft, Sun Flower system for solar plate etc, are a few to name.

Here are the excerpts of the exclusive interview with him:

Origiin: We convey heartiest congratulations on being the youngest innovator and receiving so many prestigious awards. It is a great pleasure for us to interact with you and publish your thoughts in this interview.

Mr Abhishek: Thank you so much for this opportunity. I am much honoured to do this interview with you and share my view and experience with everybody.

Origiin: Your first invention came out at the age of 12, which happened to be a “timer operated explosive device”! Would you like to share with us, how did you conceive this invention and what was the reaction of your family?

Mr Abhishek: I never thought that it will end up like this, as I never wanted to make a time bomb, it was just an accident!Actually when I was playing with a torch, I accidentally dropped it and the bulb inside it went boom. I picked up the torch to see if it was working so I pressed the switch and a short flame came out, I became very excited to see the flame as I got a brilliant idea of making a bomb for Diwali. After a few more days I thought why not set a timer for the bomb so that it explodes whenever I want it to. So, that made me to create a timer of the torch which was connected to the switch. I went to the market and got an alarm watch and read how it basically worked and used that science in my time bomb.After seeing this everybody was shocked, but this experiment made me create my first program which later helped me in making my cooking machine.

Origiin: You have received a lot of appreciation for your invention “RoboCook”, including the highly prestigious Ignite 2009 from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. How have you perceived the idea of this automatic cooking machine?

Mr Abhishek: Well it started like this,once I was making tea for my mother, that time I thought my mother was doing same thing every day i.e. she always mixed two tea spoons of sugar, one tea spoon of tea leaves and milk. So, then I decided to make one machine for my mother which would make every kind of recipe automatically and she does not need to go through the same tedious process again and again.

So, I came up with “RoboCook”which is a machine for making food automatically. It is an electrically operated automatic food making machine.  It has different boxes for ingredients.  A recipe card is used to select the type and quantity of the dish to be cooked. The machine automatically takes the required ingredients and cooks the dish.

I have developed two prototypes and NIF (National Innovation Foundation) has involved a professional design firm to develop the marketable product.

Origiin: At such a young age you have been awarded by the highest dignitaries like Dr APJ Abdul Kalam and Smt. Pratibha Patil with the National Awards and had an opportunity to present your invention in front of the present president of India, Mr Pranab Mukherjee. How does it feel to be so privileged?

Mr Abhishek: I feel much honoured to have achieved all that I have till date. It feels very nice when people know you from the work that you do. But what makes me even happier is that people now know my family by my name, this is the happiest thing that has ever happened to me and I feel very proud of it.

Origiin: Whether there have been any obstacles that you need to overcome in your journey towards innovation?

Mr Abhishek: My journey towards innovation has never been always easy, as I have faced many technical and financial obstacles. But I am thankful to NIF India as it has always supported me financially and even technically, because of which I have achieved my goals and scaled greater heights.

Origiin: Are you considering any of your inventions to make it commercially available? Have you received any help from any organization to help your ideas get translated into reality?

Mr Abhishek: Presently, I am trying to make “RoboCook” commercially available in the market for people to use it. But this needs a very large setup to be launched, so I am facing financial problem with this. But still I am trying my level best to get it to the market by telling more people about RoboCook and its benefits.

Origiin:How important is IP protection like patent, trademark or copyright for any IP work.Have you sought any Intellectual Property Protection for any of your invention?

Mr. Abhishek: Yes, I have sought IP Protection for my invention “RoboCook”.

It is very important to protect your work. Reason being:

First, and foremost it is your legal right to protect your work. Imagine that you have invented a unique pen, and showcasing it with no patent/copyright, and a few months later you find that someone has stolen your pen’s idea and developed it under his own name and received a tremendous financial gain for your work. There is virtually nothing you could do about it, as there would be no proof of sole ownership, all these however could have been avoided entirely,had there been an IP protection taken preliminary. Moreover it can make you money. Under IP laws you are able to allow others to use your works for a fee, or you can sell your IP asset to others for a larger fee, by using a license. If someone chooses to infringe upon your IP work, you are granted the right to seek legal action. provided you have the necessary legal evidence of being the true inventor, you will more than likely be awarded financial compensation.

Origiin: What is your interests and area of research that you would like to focus on in future?

Mr Abhishek: I want to create a robot which can be easily operated and programmed by a kid. In a single sentence, I want to make the programming of a robot as simple as having a cupcake

Origiin: Would you like to give any advice to students as well as young aspirants who carry the same zeal like yours to come out with something innovative that contribute to society?

Mr Abhishek: I request all teachers and parents to encourage their young ones not to study just for the sake of passing the exam but to understand and think what they are studying.This will not only make them a better learner but they can also relate to what they are learning and lastly they should never stop thinking.

Origiin: Thank you so much Abhishek for your valuable inputs and your time spared for Origiin. I am sure our readers will thoroughly enjoy it. Wish you best wishes for all your future endeavours.

Innovative product

RoboCook- An automatic cooking machine

This month we present RoboCook-an automatic cooking machine, as innovative product of the month. This award winning innovation comes from a school going kid who conceived the idea of automatic cooking machine after realising how much pain his mother goes through while preparing meals for the family everyday.

RoboCook comes with a display screen to select options to cook different items. It contains several boxes for different ingredients.One need to place metered quantity in the boxes suggested by the machine, upon which the machine dispenses the ingredients at the pre-set time as well as the sequence. There are different electronic recipe cards for different items, one need to just insert the specific card for the selected item.  Once the machine gets switch on, it asks to select the item to be prepared from menu in digital display; subsequently there would be display of numbering of boxes along with information about raw material which are fed in the respective boxes in suggested quantity. The machine reads the programmed card and accordingly supplies power to different input boxes at the pre-set timings. The cap of the boxes open due to magnetic repulsion and the raw material needed for cooking dropped down at their fixed timing. At the end one gets to relish the delightful recipe!

This particular innovation won the Ignite 2009 award and the National award in the Sixth National Biennial Competition.  Winning IGNITE was really special for Abhishek, because it was the first such award for him to be achieved at such a young age. IGNITE has also brought him recognition as NIF has involved professional design firm to develop RoboCook into a marketable product.

Interesting patent

Title of the invention: Beerbrella

Publication number:      US6637447 B2

Publication type:            Grant

Application number:     US 09/981,966

Publication date:           28 Oct 2003

Filing date:                     19 Oct 2001

Inventors:                        Mason Schott McMullin, Robert Platt Bell, Mark                                                   Andrew 

ABSTRACT: The present invention provides a small umbrella (“Beerbrella”) which may be removably attached to a beverage container in order to shade the beverage container from the direct rays of the sun. The apparatus comprises a small umbrella approximately five to seven inches in diameter, although other appropriate sizes may be used within the spirit and scope of the present invention. Suitable advertising and/or logos may be applied to the umbrella surface for promotional purposes. The umbrella may be attached to the beverage container by any one of a number of means, including clip, strap, cup, foam insulator, or as a coaster or the like. The umbrella shaft may be provided with a pivot to allow the umbrella to be suitably angled to shield the sun or for aesthetic purposes. In one embodiment, a pivot joint and counterweight may be provided to allow the umbrella to pivot out of the way when the user drinks from the container.