By Aakansha Bhola Editor’s Note: Patents are intellectual property usually possessed by the industry. They usually protect the commercial right of the patent-holder. But before further elaboration on this, understanding the concept of intellectual property is necessary. Intellectual property is property possessed by virtue of the mind and intellect. It […]
Right to Health vis-à-vis Patent Protection: The Indian Scenario
By Rahul Vicky, CNLU Patna Introduction In India, all drugs were generics before 2005 because there were no product patents for pharmaceuticals. India became fully TRIPS compliant in 2005 through the introduction of pharmaceutical patents, with legislation that included safeguards to protect public health. In particular, section 3(d) of India’s […]
Intellectual Property Rights in Pharmaceuticals
By Amitav Singh, National University of Advanced Legal Studies, Kochi “Editor’s Note: With the rapid advancement of science and technology, the pharmaceutical industry has been flourishing the market with life saving drugs. Intellectual property rights of pharmaceuticals is governed by patent law. India being a signatory of the GATT is […]
Patents and Right to Health
‘Patent’ word derives its origin from the Latin word “Patere” which means to “open up”. Patent is an Intellectual Property Right that grants exclusive monopoly rights to the holder of the patent to use, manufacture, produce, sell and/or market the invention. Though patents provide an incentive to innovate but they also make it difficult for countries to keep health care costs low. Considering specifically pharmaceutical patents (product patents), monopoly rights to commercially exploit a drug may lead to high pricing of the drugs to recoup the R&D costs before expiration of term of the patent. Therefore, the issue becomes very significant because while patents are food for thought of inventors, it cannot be neglected that these do lead to high prices of drugs, thereby affecting the health of the society at large.
EverGreening: An Abuse of the Patent System
By Sushmita R., Christ Law College, Bangalore “Editor’s Note: Intellectual Property laws are one of the most complexed laws that exist today. India, in order to strengthen its patent regime and align it with the TRIPs agreement, introduced amendments to the Patent Act in 2005, with a special focus on the […]