Patents

 

Patents

Section 5 Part II of the TRIPS Agreement (Article 27 to Article 34) contains the provisions for standards in respect of the Patents.

A Patent is an exclusive right granted by a country to the inventor to make, use, manufacture and market the invention that satisfies the conditions of novelty, innovativeness and usefulness Members are required to comply with the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.

Introduction of Patent Law in India took place in 1856 whereby certain exclusive privileges to the inventors of new inventions were granted for a period of 14 years. Presently, the patent provisions in India are governed by the Patents Act, 1970. The Indian Patents Act is fully compatible with the TRIPS Agreement, following amendments to it; the last amendment being in 2005 by the Patents (Amendment) Act, 2005.

Product patents in the field of pharmaceuticals and agro-chemicals have been introduced by deleting Section 5 of the Patents Act. Those inventions which are considered a mere discovery of a new form of a known substance or mere discovery of a new property or new use will not be considered patentable. A provision for patenting of software that is embedded in hardware has also been introduced in the Patents Act.

The term of every patent is now for 20 years from the date of filing. Provisions for the pre-grant opposition to the grant of patents have also been incorporated in the Act. Earlier such provisions were available only for post-grant opposition. The filing date of a patent application and its complete specification will now be the international date of filing for the patent as per the provisions of the Patent Cooperation Treaty.

A provision has also been introduced in the Patents Act to enable the grant of compulsory licenses for the export of medicines to countries with limited or no manufacturing capacities to meet emergent public health situations. The law effectively balances and calibrates intellectual property protection with public health concerns and national security. This provision is in line with the Decision of the WTO of 30 August 2003 on the Implementation of Paragraph 6 of the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health.