NGOs File Petition Against Wheat Patent For Monsanto

Net worth in 98 PSUs negative: CAG

WIPO LAUNCHES ELECTRONIC FILING OF INTERNATIONAL PATENT APPLICATIONS

The Indian engineer emerges from behind the PC

The Top Ten US Universities in Patents-2003.

India Moves Up The Patent Ladder, But Still Has A Long Way To Go

Monsanto to sell wheat patent as part of cereal biz

Steelmakers Look For Collar Change

Patently, India lags behind!

Net worth in 98 PSUs negative: CAG

Business Line, New Delhi , Feb. 5

EVEN as the disinvestment of public sector enterprises (PSUs) in the country remained mired in controversy and dilatory tactics, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has said that the aggregate net worth of as many as 98 companies out of 276 government companies/corporations (excluding deemed government companies) has become negative to the extent of Rs 37,745.17 crore as on end-March 2003.

In his report on PSUs review of accounts, tabled in Parliament, the CAG said that due to the complete erosion of the equity investment in these companies by their accumulated losses, recovery of the loans given by the Government to these companies has become "doubtful".

The accumulated losses in these 98 PSUs have escalated by Rs 12,860 crore from Rs 55.295 crore in 2000-01 to Rs 68,155 crore in 2002-03 i.e, by 23.26 per cent. Out of these 98 companies, 62 have already been referred to the BIFR, the report said.

The reports said that only 139 PSUs could earn profits during 2002-03 and 125 PSUs suffered losses.

Out of the total profit of Rs 44,298.14 crore earned by 139 PSUs, the major contribution came from only 45 PSUs in five sectors, viz., coal and lignite, telecommunications, petroleum, power and financial services. They contributed Rs 38,008.35 crore, i.e., 85.80 per cent of the overall profit earned by the PSUs.

Out of the 139 PSUs, which earned profit, only 91 PSUs declared dividend for the year 2002-03 amounting to Rs 13,773.81 crore and out of this Rs 10,201.72 crore were paid/payable to the Government of India, excluding dividend of Rs 5.46 crore declared by one PSU out of reserves. The latter represented 9.90 per cent return on the total investment by the Government of India (i.e., Rs 1,03,388.56 crore) in all the PSUs.

Out of the total dividend of Rs 13,779.81 crore declared by PSUs in 2002-03, PSUs under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, operating partially under the administered/regulated prices, contributed Rs 8,849.46 crore, representing 64.22 per cent of the entire dividend declared by all Central Government companies.

Non-compliance of Government's directive in the declaration of dividend resulted in a shortfall of Rs 8,810.05 crore in the payment of dividend for the year 2002-03.

The report said that in 140 PSUs, the value of inventory (stores and spares) was more than 33 per cent of their annual consumption. In 123 of these PSUs, it exceeded 50 per cent of annual consumption.

In 63 PSUs, finished goods held in stock were more than one month's sales. In 115 PSUs, the value of surplus, obsolete and non-moving stores was Rs 2800/75 crore.

CAG said the market value of shares of 21 listed Government companies as per prices prevailing in stock markets on March 31, 2003 stood at Rs 1,19,747.52 crore. This compared favourably with the total book value of their shares at Rs 93,135.41 crore.

Market value of shares held by Government of India in these companies stood at Rs 95,174.87 crore as on March 31, 2003 as compared with the book value of Rs 73,136.38 crore.

WIPO LAUNCHES ELECTRONIC FILING OF INTERNATIONAL PATENT APPLICATIONS

Companies and inventors seeking patent protection in multiple countries will, from February 12, 2004, have the possibility to electronically file their international application under the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) with WIPO as receiving office. The full deployment of the PCT-SAFE ("Secure Applications Filed Electronically") system means that applicants from all of the PCT’s 123 member states may file their international applications with WIPO at a reduced fee of up to 300 Swiss francs.

"This milestone in the history of the PCT heralds a new era in the operations of the PCT, which is the cornerstone of the international patent system", said Mr. Francis Gurry, WIPO Deputy Director General who oversees the PCT. "The availability of secure electronic filing using PCT-SAFE will ensure timely receipt and processing of international applications and will translate into significant efficiency gains both for users of the system and for WIPO", he added.

Electronic filing using PCT-SAFE software offers PCT applicants significant benefits, including:

• Fee reductions of up to 300 Swiss francs;
• Confidence that applications are correctly formatted thanks to validation software within PCT-SAFE which creates documents that meet PCT requirements;
• Reduced printing, copying and mailing costs of applications;
• Almost immediate notification that their application has been received and is being processed;
• Documents are fully searchable both during the PCT procedure and once they enter the public domain;
• Access to a PCT-SAFE Editor offers a user-friendly option for preparing the body of a PCT application in the required electronic format. Applicants may either convert an application body created using a word processor or prepare the application body from scratch within the Editor. Applicants who use this tool qualify for the maximum discount of 300 Swiss francs;
• Secure transmission of international applications. The distribution of digital certificates to applicants using PCT-SAFE by the WIPO Customer Certification Authority ensures a high degree of data integrity and security.

Full deployment of PCT-SAFE within the WIPO receiving office means that PCT users can now file their international applications either on-line or using physical media such as CD-R. It follows a pilot phase which provided an opportunity for PCT users and WIPO to test and evaluate the PCT-SAFE system.

Until recently, international patent applications could only be filed on paper. As an interim solution, applicants have also had the option of using PCT-EASY software to prepare a validated request form of an application and to submit it (both on paper and on diskette) together with the substantive contents of the application on paper. The PCT-SAFE product is built on an enhanced version of the PCT-EASY software to facilitate the transition to PCT-SAFE. Although PCT-EASY users enjoy a 100 Swiss franc fee reduction, users who graduate to PCT-SAFE may benefit from reductions of up to 300 Swiss francs.

The PCT, for the third consecutive year in 2003 received over 110,000 international applications. The volume and increasing complexity of applications, in particular, from the biotechnology sector, has prompted WIPO to implement business solutions that enable the organization to meet the needs of PCT users by continuing to deliver cost-effective and quality services. The importance of this development and its associated benefits have already been recognized by major users of the PCT, such as Dutch electronics giant, Philips (Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.) which in August 2003, during pilot phase, filed the first fully electronic international application under the PCT under the PCT-SAFE pilot project.

At that time, Philips Chief Executive Officer of Intellectual Property Standards, Mr. Ruud Peters, said his firm plans to make extensive use of the PCT-SAFE software as this would translate into significant savings for his company, which has chosen the PCT as its preferred route for seeking international patent protection. "Filing patents on-line at WIPO means a huge step forward for our patent creation process," he said. "As we are constantly looking for ways to improve our business process and be cost-effective, this new service fits perfectly in our strategy," Mr. Peters noted (for more information, please refer to http://www.wipo.int/edocs/prdocs/en/2003/wipo_pr_2003_350.html).

New developments relating to PCT-SAFE are available through the WIPO PCT web site at http://www.wipo.int/pct-safe/en/index.htm, the PCT Newsletter and the WIPO Magazine. A WIPO publication entitled "What is PCT-SAFE?" (reference number 496) is also available.

Background

The PCT was concluded in 1970 and entered into force in 1978 with the adherence of 18 countries. Today, the PCT offers advantages to patent applicants, national patent offices, and the public in the 123 states that have joined the system. Instead of filing separate national patent applications with the office of each country in which a patent is sought, the PCT allows an inventor/applicant to file one "international" application in one language and to seek protection simultaneously in all its member states. The effect of such an international application in each "designated state" is the same as if a national or regional patent application had been filed with the national patent office of that country or the relevant regional patent office.

The PCT offers applicants up to 18 months more time (or even more in some cases) than they would have under the traditional patent system to decide whether and for which countries they wish to pursue patent protection. In this way, they delay, by the same number of months, the expenses of translating the application, paying national fees and appointing local patent agents. In addition, as the result of the PCT’s international search and international preliminary examination procedures, PCT applicants possess detailed, high-value information on which to base decisions of whether it is worthwhile to continue to seek patents for their inventions. They also benefit from the uniform formality requirements and centralized international publication provided by the PCT system.

For further information, please contact the Media Relations & Public Affairs Section at WIPO:

Tel: + 41 22 338 8161 or 338 95 47;
E-mail: publicinf@wipo.int

The Top Ten US Universities in Patents-2003.

This report presents a preliminary list of the U.S. universities receiving the most patents for invention (i.e., utility patents) during the 2003 calendar year. All campuses are included.

*The listed patent counts are preliminary. The final listing of patent counts for U.S. universities in 2003 should be
available in late December of 2004.
** Indicates a tie in the ranking among two or more U.S. universities.

Monsanto to sell wheat patent as part of cereal biz

Business Line,M.R. Subramani

Chennai , Feb. 15

THE US seed major, Monsanto, is looking to sell the patent given by the European Union for Indian wheat variety, with special baking qualities, as part of its cereal business assets. The company had exited cereal business in September last.

"We decided to exit the cereal business several months ago. And when we sell the business, its entire assets get transferred. In this case, the wheat patent is part of it," a Monsanto official told Business Line.

A hue and cry has been raised over the patent given by the Munich-based European Patent office to the wheat variety, Galatea, that exhibits a special baking quality derived by crossing a traditional Indian wheat variety, Nap Hal, with other conventionally bred plants.

According to environmental activists, the special baking quality comes from a naturally occurring combination of genes that reduces the percentage of protein in the grains.

Objections to the patent are mainly on the grounds that as early as in 1988, experiments into the particular baking properties of Nap Hal wheat were described in a scientific magazine. The qualities, which Nap Hal exhibits, make it particularly suited to producing crisp bakery products such as biscuits.

Meanwhile, the environment group, Greenpeace, has opposed the patent given to Monsanto for an Indian variety wheat in the EU Patent Office.

The challenge to the wheat patent was filed in the EU Patent Office before the Research Foundation for Science and Technology filed a petition in the Supreme Court. The petition came up for hearing on Friday in the apex court and the Union Government has been asked to file its reply by Monday.

"We filed our objection to the wheat patent given to Monsanto on January 27 in Munich," Dr Ashesh Tayal, Scientific Advisor, Greenpeace India, told Business Line.

"Any objection to the patent will have to be filed within nine months after the patent is awarded. The time expires on February 21 and, therefore, we decided to protest against it," Dr Tayal said.

Greenpeace had earlier protested against a patent given to Du Pont for a Mexican corn variety with special oil content. "Then, the Mexican Government objected to it along with us and we got it cancelled," Dr Tayal said, adding "we can have this patent also negatived if we go and defend our rights."

Monsanto officials say they are prepared to fully defend the patent. The officials said it was Unilever that originally applied for this patent, which was acquired by it in 1998.

Monsanto officials also dismiss allegations, particularly by Greenpeace, against it as misleading. "Almost every allegation of biopiracy over the last 20 years has its roots in misinterpretation of patent claims and misunderstanding of patent law," said Ms Ranjana Smetacek, Director-Public Affairs, Monsanto India.

"The new wheat variety was designed for use in Europe with characteristics suitable for industrial processing. The original research involves Nap Hal, which is freely available from several public germ plasm collections across the world," she said.

The wheat continues to be available to Indian farmers and scientists for use in future breeding projects and, therefore, the patented variety will not restrict continued research. "The new European variety has not yet been sold or planted commercially," Ms Smetacek said.

Patently, India lags behind!

Business Line,  Hyderabad , Feb. 21

JAPAN'S patent authorities received nearly 4.5 lakh applications last year while India, whose population is nine times more than Japan's, received only 12,000. And what's worse, a bulk of them was from foreign parties.

Why does India fare so poorly in this aspect? Creativity consultant Prof. S.D. Tase blamed it on the absence of a culture of innovation.At a two-day workshop on `Patenting in India and Abroad - 2004' here, Prof. Tase discounted the view that getting a patent meant solving a chakravyuha. "It is not a chakravyuha. It's an open-ended highway where everyone can tread on," he said.

He called for a panchsheel to build an innovation-centred India: creativity, invention, innovation, patent and entrepreneurship.

"Every person should have one innovation in his lifetime. If each one of us could generate one idea, we could pool up a repository of 100 crore ideas. Even if we set aside the duplications, we can easily settle with 10 crore ideas," Prof. Tase said.

"People have the notion that only the greatest ideas can be patented. It is wrong. Even small ones can be patented," he said.

Prof. Tase also found fault with the opinion that people need to wait till they perfect their innovation to patent it. "There is a danger in waiting for perfection. The first thing you should do is patent your idea. You can always innovate further and modify it," he said.

He, however, said it might take a very long time to get the patent. He cited the example of Chester F. Carlson, the inventor of the copying machine. "It took seven years for him to get a patent," he said.

According to him, there is no dearth of ideas. Mr Yoshiro Nakamatsu, whose host of inventions include the floppy disk and the CD, generated ideas continuously.