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Patents Act, 1970 or Competition Act, 2002: SC to decide applicability on actions of patentee

Background

The Supreme Court (“SC”) issued a notice[i] on a special leave petition filed by the Competition Commission of India (“CCI”) on March 1, 2024, against a Division Bench order of the Delhi High Court (“Delhi HC”) passed on July 13, 2023. The impugned order dealt with four appeals and a writ petition filed by Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (“Ericsson”), CCI, and Monsanto Holdings (P.) Ltd. (“Monsanto”) against previous Delhi HC judgements in Ericsson AB v. CCI (March 30, 2016)[ii], Ericsson AB v. CCI (December 14, 2015)[iii], Monsanto Holdings (P) Ltd. v. CCI (May 20, 2020)[iv], and letters issued by the CCI against Ericsson on July 16, 2015, and August 8, 2015.

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In part II of our series on establishing global capability centres (“GCCs”) in India,[1] we discuss the key issues that foreign companies face when strategising the structure and model for setting-up a GCC.

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Role of the Audit Committee – Need for a Deeper Reflection

Context

As the financial year 2023-24 draws to a close in a few days, it is the right time to reflect on the functions and responsibilities of the Audit Committee as well as address some “inconvenient” questions concerning their effectiveness vis-a-vis various listed and unlisted companies.

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Holding-Subsidiary Relationship – Legal & Regulatory Architecture

Background

Companies, as the business grows, operate through their subsidiaries for various reasons such as flexibility in operation of different units, expansion in different geographies, etc. While subsidiary is an entity over which the wholly owned subsidiary has control, the Companies Act, 2013 (“CA 2013”) recognises subsidiary companies as a separate legal entity.

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Pre-Clinical Testing on Claws and Paws: Decoding the Permissibility of Animal Experimentation

Introduction

The practice of experimenting on animals has long been a focal point of ethical and regulatory debates. Juxtaposed against the concerns for animal welfare, this complex landscape tries to strike a balance between the pursuit of scientific progress to advance human knowledge and safeguard the rights and well-being of fellow planet inhabitants. Notwithstanding the surge in global commitment to reduce the number of animals used in experimentation and research activities, reports indicate that more than 100 million animals are used globally for experimentation on an annual basis. Further, trend suggests that, currently, there is little to no decline in worldwide use of animals in research and lab work.

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When is a Holding Company liable for the acts and omissions of its Subsidiary? A Jurisprudential Analysis

The Companies Act in India and jurisdictions all over the world have statutorily recognised subsidiaries as a separate legal entity. Section 2(87)[1] of the Companies Act, 2013 (“CA 2013”), defines “subsidiary company” or “subsidiary” as a company in which the holding company controls the composition of the Board of Directors; or exercises or controls more than one-half of the total voting power either on its own or together with one or more of its subsidiary companies.

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MHC recommends whittling down of claims to overcome refusal of patent application due to lack of inventive step

Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC’s (hereinafter “Microsoft”) appeal against an order dated September 29, 2020, by which its Indian Patent Application No. 1783/CHENP/2012, was refused by the Controller of Patents as being obvious and lacking inventive step has been allowed by the Madras High Court (hereinafter “MHC”). The MHC directed narrowing of claims to clearly define the inventive feature and overcome refusal of Patent application due to lack of inventive step.

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Regulating Software as Medical Devices – Navigating Hurdles One Byte at a Time

Transitioning Regulatory Landscape

Dynamic progress in healthtech and medtech has led to a transformative surge of the medical devices landscape, propelling the rise of new and innovative medical devices. However,  preceding the amendments to the Medical Devices Rules, 2017 (“MD Rules”), only a handful of medical devices were regulated, with software escaping regulatory scrutiny. Recognising the myriad instruments affecting individual and animal health, the Government found it imperative to extend regulations to this rapidly evolving realm.

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Scope of business method inventions under Section 3(k)

In Priya Randolph Vs Deputy Controller of Patent and Design,[order dated December 20, 2023],the Madras High Court set aside a refusal order passed by the Deputy Controller of Patents and Designs in appeal proceedings. The Court held that mere involvement of a business method in an invention doesn’t render it unpatentable under Section 3(k) of the Indian Patents Act, 1970. The Court observed that the invention involved hardware, software and firmware and that all these components put together, improve data privacy and protection mechanisms.

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Global Capacity Centres (GCCs) take centre stage in fuelling global growth

Emergence and Transformative Evolution of GCCs in India

Global Capability Centres (“GCCs”) started as offshore global in-house centres (“GICs”) in the Indian  banking industry to help cut costs and provide operational support to the service offerings of a foreign entity (“Foreign Entity”). India has gained credence as a favourable destination because of its skilled human resources (wide talent pool) and competent operational costs. As of FY 2022–23, India’s approximately 1,580 GCCs have 1.66 million employees,[1] and this number is rapidly increasing.

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