The Central Consumer Protection Authority (“CCPA”) notified Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023 (“Guidelines”), under Section 18 of the Consumer Protection Act 2019 (“COPRA”), on November 30, 2023.
Continue Reading Dark Pattern Guidelines: Illuminating Or Illusory?
The Business Judgment Rule is a legal presumption evolved by Delaware courts. It was thereafter adopted by most commonwealth countries. The presumption is that while making business decisions, Directors of a company act in good faith, on an informed basis and in the honest belief that the action is in the best interest of the company. If the above conditions are satisfied, the Board of Directors will not suffer a legal liability from a bad business decision. The rationale being that in an inherently risky global business environment, the Board should be allowed to take business risks without the constant fear of lawsuits.
Continue Reading The Business Judgment Rule: The Indian context
Recently, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (“IRDAI”) has settled the ambiguity surrounding arbitrability of insurance disputes vide its circular titled Amendment of Arbitration Clause in General Insurance Policies dated October 27, 2023 (“Circular”)[1]. This issue stems from the All India Fire Tariff (“AIFT”) issued by the Tariff Advisory Committee (“TAC”) on May 31, 2005.
Continue Reading Arbitrability of insurance disputes – IRDAI clears the air
India has notified regulations allowing foreign higher educational institutions (“FEI”) to set up campuses in the country in November 2023. A summary of the regulations with our thoughts is available here.
Continue Reading Key pointers for setting up Foreign Higher-Ed Campus in India
Section 3(i) of the Indian Patents Act makes patent ineligible “any process for the medicinal, surgical, curative, prophylactic diagnostic, therapeutic or other treatment of human beings or any process for a similar treatment of animals to render them free of disease or to increase their economic value or that of their products”. Two recent Madras High Court decisions, in respect of two separate appeals filed by the same Appellant, Chinese University of Hong Kong [CMA (PT) No. 14 of 2023 and CMA(PT) No. 1 of 2023] have deliberated upon the scope of “diagnostic” under Section 3(i) of the Patents Act, 1970. In both the cases, the Court, held that the word “diagnostic” in Section 3(i) of the Patents Act, should be construed, to consider processes that uncover pathology for the treatment of human beings, as being patent ineligible.
Continue Reading Interpreting ‘Diagnostic’ under Section 3(i) of the Patents Act
The order of the Division Bench (DB) of the Delhi high Court in Syngenta Ltd v Controller of Patents and Designs brought an overdue clarity on the interpretation of Section 16[1] of the Indian Patents Act, dealing with divisional patent applications.
Continue Reading Division Bench altering the interpretation of Section 16 of the Indian Patents Act
A dynamic risk market demands insurance companies to constantly seek new solutions to manage their capital and risk position. This position is further challenged by volatile financial markets, low interest rates, and of course, competition. As insurers assess their risk appetite and aim to achieve an optimal balance of risk, reinsurance solutions have proved to be an effective solution. While traditional reinsurance solutions are effective tools for risk management, ‘Non-traditional Reinsurance Solutions’, are oriented towards providing specific business solutions rather than pure risk transfer. In this piece, we discuss the insurance regulatory framework around Non-traditional Reinsurance Solutions in India.
Continue Reading Indian Regulatory Perspective on Non-traditional Reinsurance Solutions
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (“IRDAI”) has notified the introduction of first phase of pilots for implementing ‘Risk Based Supervision’ (“RBS”) framework for the insurance sector in India[1], commencing from July 2023. The IRDAI has collaborated with M/s Toronto Centre[2] for the aforesaid project. According to the IRDAI press release, RBS is a shift towards adopting global best practices for supervision which focuses on proportionality, materiality and relies on holistic analysis of the activities of regulated entity from risk perspective. The IRDAI’s intention to shift to the RBS framework for the insurance sector was first divulged vide a notification in October 2018[3], which listed the following benefits for insurance supervision[4]:
Continue Reading Risk Based Supervision: Pilot Basis for New Regime to Take Off?
The Indian semiconductor market is expected to reach USD 55 billion by 2026, more than 60% of which is driven by three industries: smartphones & wearables, automotive components, and computing & data storage.[1] Currently, majority of the demand in the Indian semiconductor market is met by imports. In order to reduce the dependency on imports of semiconductors and to fill the semiconductor supply chain gap caused due to COVID-19 and the strained relations between United States and China, the Government of India has approved the Semicon India Programme with an initial financial outlay of INR 76,000 crore (USD 9.13 billion approx.) for the development of a sustainable semiconductor and display ecosystem in India.[2] While inaugurating the Semicon India 2023, a national-level conference focusing on the semiconductor industry, in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, PM Modi said that India is becoming a grand conductor for investments in the semiconductor sector.[3]
Continue Reading India’s Semiconductor Moment