ArcelorMittal wins cyber squatting case against Mumbai based Taj group of companies
Global steel giant ArcelorMittal won a cyber squatting case against the Mumbai based Taj Group of Companies. The group of Companies dealing in chemicals manufacturing, trading of cement, textile and pharmaceuticals manufacturing had registered five websites--arcelorcement.com, arcelorlabs.com, arcelorlaboratories.com, arcelorchemicals.net and arcelorchemicals.com. In June 2010, the steel company approached the UN's World Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva to restrain the Taj group of companies for using trademark. The steel company had contended that the disputed Internet sites were identical in part and confusingly similar as a whole to the 'Arcelor' trademark, for which it owns the rights. Besides, it also argued that the term 'arcelor' is known only in relation to it.  James A Barker, who presided over the dispute, held that the registered sites were being used in bad faith and ordered the respondent to transfer the disputed domains to ArcelorMittal.

79,000 Patent Applications are pending at the Indian Patent Office
The Indian Parliament was informed on 3rd of July, 2010 that, about 79,000 patent applications are pending before the patent office for grant. The mechanical engineering and chemicals segment constitute most of the applications.  Minister for commerce and Industry, Anand Sharma said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha that the requests are pending mainly due to the considerable increase in the number of patent applications filed with the office after 2003-2004. In order to dispose of the pending requests for examination, the government has created 200 new posts of Examiners of patents and designs.

Seminar on IP Risk Management is being organized by Intellecture
Intellecture, Brain League's training division, is organizing a seminar on Intellectual Property (IP) for knowledge driven companies. The seminar is aimed at helping companies manage IP efficiently for business and competitive advantage. One of the primary focus areas of the seminar is IP Risk Management.
With the increase in IP awareness in India, the number of IP filings, grants, oppositions and suits has increased phenomenally during the last five years. The increase in IP activity increases the risk to a company from IP owned by third parties. To address the said issue, one session in the Seminar has been dedicated to IP Risk Management. The session will be delivered by Dr. Kalyan, who has worked on numerous IP Risk Clearance and Management projects.
The session will start with an introduction to IP Risks and will go on to elaborate on origin of risk. Thereafter, strategies for managing risks and established models will be discussed. To learn more details or register for the seminar please visit
http://intellectureindia.com/IP_for_Business_advantage.htm

Microsoft, and Salesforce Settle Patent Infringement Suit
Microsoft and Salesforce have settled their patent disputes through a settlement agreement. Microsoft initially sued Salesforce alleging that Salesforce was infringing its patents relating to building websites, display, remote calls and so on. In response, Salesforce counter-sued Microsoft alleging that Windows 7 and Azure of Microsoft infringes its patents. The parties have now agreed to cross-license each other's patents under the settlement agreement. It is stipulated that Salesforce will be paying Microsoft an undisclosed amount. Other terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.

Vectura Licenses Patents to GlaxoSmithKline
UK based drug maker Vectura group has licensed some of its patents related to inhaled drugs to the pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline in a deal that could bring it up to Great Britain Pounds 20 million and also royalties on future sales of two of the GlaxoSmithKline's latest crop of experimental respiratory medicines. Experts opine that the deal underscores the strength of Vectura's technology in respiratory medicine as GlaxoSmithKline is a market leader in medicines for asthma and related conditions