THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It was after exhausting all other options that the students and teachers of the law department at Kerala University knocked on the doors of Attorney General KK Venugopal. Their request for help to purchase a reference book may sound trivial, but only till its price is known. Chisum on Patents, considered to be the Bible of Patent law, costs $15,894 (Rs 12 lakh).
The much sought-after 54-volume book had always remained too pricey for the department, which gets only Rs 4 lakh as annual grant to purchase library books.To the surprise of the students and teachers, department head Sindhu Thulaseedharan received a letter from Venugopal a few days ago, saying he has decided to purchase the book and ‘gift’ it to them. “With reference to your request, the purchase order for the same has been placed,” he wrote.
“We don’t know how to thank him. It’s a great gesture that touched our hearts,” Sindhu told TNIE. “The price has always been a deterrent, but we wanted it as our students are keen to pursue interdisciplinary studies in emerging areas such as intellectual property rights and patent disputes. We had initiated communication with corporate law firms to check the possibility of getting assistance under CSR scheme. It was on March 3 that I wrote to Venugopal sir asking whether he would be able to help us,” she said.
‘Chisum on Patents’ by US scholar Donald S Chisum, a professor at University of Washington and Santa Clara University, was first released in 1978. It is the most cited patent treatise with citations in over 1,100 US cases, including 14 US Supreme Court decisions. The book is revised periodically and the latest edition contains detailed analysis of the America Invents Act of 2011.
Venugopal, born in Kanhangad, had wanted to open a legal university in Kerala in memory of his father MK Nambiar a few years ago. But the proposal did not get clearance from the state government. It turned out to be a blessing for National University Law School of Bengaluru, which launched MK Nambiar Chair of Constitutional Law later.
Most-cited treatise
Chisum on Patents is the most-cited patent treatise with citations in over 1,100 US cases, including 14 US SC decisions.