Post Trips Patenting Regime and Pharmaceutical Industry of India With Reference to North West Region Changing Paradigms Perspectives and Pragmatics

Abstract

The Indian pharmaceutical industry initially, governed by the Patents Act of 1911, allowed the MNCs to take advantage and they patented heavily in the country and the indigenous firms were legally prevented from manufacturing most of the new drugs newlineintroduced by the transnational corporations (TNCs) during the life of the patent. The Patent Act of 1911, amended in 1970 provided protection for the processes of newlinemanufacturing the drug for seven years from the date of filing the application or for five years from the date of the grant of the patent. It was harshly criticized by the multinational companies operating in India at that time on the grounds that it would newlinereduce the incentives for investments in that sector. A large number of indigenous and smaller enterprises entered the market and competed with existing firms. Over the newlineyears, it became a much more fragmented industry. The period 1970-95, generally newlineknown as the pre-TRIPS period, has been considered as a flourishing phase of the newlineIndian pharmaceutical industry. newlineThe scenario changed after world trade organization (WTO), 1995 and India, being a signatory member of WTO, adopted TRIPS. Under TRIPS, all countries have to newlineprovide for protection of product patents from January 1, 1995. Developing countries newlinelike India, which did not have a regime of product patents, could take advantage of a newlinetransition period of ten years until January 1, 2005. However, perceptions about IPRs in India also changed over time and a paradigm shift occurred in the industry and caused a marked shift in India s policy around 1998-99. Industry bodies and various groups changed their stand and now took a pro-patent view. Accordingly The Patent newlineAct 1970 was amended and under the Patents (Amendment) Act, 2005 patents are to be granted both for products and processes for all the inventions in all fields of technology. As a result, reverse engineering possibilities, hitherto available to the pharmaceutical industry, will only be limited to those drugs that will go off-patent.