Revised Guidelines for Computer Related Inventions

Government released revised guidelines on June 30th. It replaces guidelines issued in February 2016.
Means plus Function: The claims concerning CRIs are often phrased in means for performing some function such as means for converting digital to analog signal etc. These types of claims are termed as means +function format. The „means‟ mentioned in the claims shall clearly be defined with the help of physical constructional features and their reference numerals to enhance the intelligibility of the claims. The claims in means plus function form shall not be allowed if the structural features of those means are not disclosed in the specification. Further, if the specification supports performing the invention solely by the computer program then in that case means plus function claims shall be rejected as these means are nothing but computer programme per se. Where no structural features of those means are disclosed in the specification and specification supports performing the invention solely by the software then in that case means in the “means plus function” claims are nothing but software.

NV Organon, a subsidiary of Merck & Co fails to secure patent in India for female contraceptive kit.

As per reports, NV Organon, a subsidiary of US-based Merck & Co ,one of the largest pharma companies in the world has failed to secure a patent in India for its invention on a female contraceptive kit. The kit, which comprises a vaginal ring, is used in cyclical dosage and has a reminder system. Organon has a similar product under trade name NuvaRing (etonogestrel/ethinyl estradiol vaginal ring), which received initial US approval in 2001 and has been marketed worldwide. That Us patent expires in 2018. Organon followed with another patent in 2006 `Regimens for Oral Monophasic Contraceptives'. 

This patent claims:  A method of human female contraception which comprises: (i) administering a monophasic oral contraceptive dosage unit once a day starting on numerical date ‘m+4’ of a month continuously until numerical date ‘m’ of the following month; and (ii) not administering the monophasic oral contraceptive dosage unit in the numerical dates between ‘m’ and ‘m+4’; wherein ‘m’ is a numerical date of a month from 1-24 and wherein the method is repeatedly carried out for at least two cycles.