India patent protection

WTO (1996a). India—Patent Protection for Pharmaceutical and Agricultural Chemical Products— Complaint by the United States, (WT/DS50). Geneva WTO. 

While the tripartite countries of the more developed regions of the world have their own patent laws, and while they honor each other s property protection rights, some countries do not. Patent pirates in these countries freely copy (pirate) innovator drugs and drug products that are under patent protection in the United States and elsewhere without compensating patent holders. India is perhaps the worst pirate offender,... 

Chaudhuri, S. 2005. The WTO and India s Pharmaceuticals Industry Patent Protection, TRIPS and Developing Countries. New Delhi Oxford University Press. 

The United States Congress has seen fit to grant patents on new chemical substances, regardless of how they are made. A few major industrial countries follow suit, some with limitations as to the field of use. Examples are Great Britain, France, Canada (except foods and medicines), Australia, South Africa, India, and Pakistan. But most countries limit patent protection to processes. Germany and most other European countries are examples. Thus, it may be advisable to patent as many processes as possible leading to a desired end product. 

Initially, international pharmaceutical companies had been somewhat reluctant to place R D efforts in emerging economies due to worries about their intellectual property enviromnents. A 2005 survey by Ernst and Young of 348 senior industry executives found that respondents did not believe their companies levels of investment would reach 150 million or more by 2010 in China or India (48). At the time, 70% of the smveyed pharmaceutical executives stated that threats to intellectual property posed a business risk in China, with 62% considering patent protection in India an issue. 

Even more worrying is the fact that some countries have reduced or even withdrawn patent protection. This started with India in 1972, was followed by Mexico in 1975 and has been continued in South America (by the Andean Pact Commission). 

In Part IV, we turn to the issue of patents and pharmaceuticals. Adam Mannan and Alan Story argue that drug access could be improved if product patents were abolished. They argue that even if a process patent is present, competitors can find alternative processes or uses for the chemical compound and create price competition. To further support their argument, the authors explain how the patent system was created not because it had to create conditions for sustainable innovation, but for market protection. They note that, until recently, few countries even recognized pharmaceutical product patents and some countries, such as India, were able to develop a thriving industry as a result of the absence of product patents. 

WTO requires protection of plant varieties either by patents or by an effective sui generis system or by any combination thereof, while at present there is no system for protection of plant varieties in India. 

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