Before you litigate that patent in India, read this

From the ever-fertile keyboard of Spicy IP blogger Prashant Reddy comes "A Beginner's Guide to Patent Litigation Before Indian Courts and the Indian Patent Office" (here), an entertaining and thought-provoking piece in which the author dares to suggest that some of the complaints most frequently laid at the feet of the Indian patent system relate to problems that are not inherent in the system itself but reflect "the faulty strategies, tactics and law firms" used by foreign innovator companies which complain loudest against the Indian system. Adding that it is "[e]ven more perplexing is the fact that innovator companies keep repeating their mistakes time and again, especially in opposition proceedings before the Patent Office. It's almost like they're trying to commit hara-kiri", Prashant then lists some surprisingly elementary advice for those who come to India to litigate their (or other people''s) patents.

PatLit thinks that a lot of this advice is applicable not only in India but in many other lively and fast-maturing developing markets in which innovator companies are trading at a great cultural distance from their head offices. Oh, yes -- and the fact that the offending parties can do a great deal better does not mean that the system is not in need of improvement ...