Book Review: Indian Patent Law and Practice, Kalyan C. Kankanala, Arun K. Narasani and Vinita Radhakrishnan (Oup 2010)

Abstract

There is no book that can guide one in the aspects of science, as a patent, by definition, is granted for cutting-edge science and technology. It then follows that any book on patent law would essentially deal with the legal aspects. Here too, there are two divisions a book can cater to – what is referred to here as the two faces of patent law. A book on patent law can serve the needs of a legal practitioner who deals with the contentious aspects of patent law. Terrell on the Law of Patents (Sweet and Maxwell, 17th edition, 2010) holds a special place among practitioners from the Commonwealth. A book on patent law can also serve patent agents – a group of ‘hybrid’ professionals who practice at the intersection of law and science. The nature of their work is different from that of a contentious patent lawyer. Their work involves preparing patent specification (a document which embodies the rights in a patent) and prosecuting them at the Patent Office leading to the grant of a patent. The book under review, Indian Patent Law and Practice, is a book written by a group of patent agents primarily targeting practising and prospective patent agents.

Keywords: Book Review, Patent Agent, Practice, statistical information on patent filing, study of relevant cases

JEL Classification: O31, O34