Indian Parliament passes patents bill

The Indian Parliament has passed the Patents (Amendment) Bill 2005, thereby reintroducing the product patent regime for drugs and pharmaceuticals in the country. Though the Patent Bill has been drafted fully in line with the TRIPS compliance, it has also addressed the concerns of the domestic pharmaceutical sector and health NGOs by incorporating few changes in the original draft.

The changes include clearer definition of new drugs and patentability, stronger pre-grant opposition provisions, means for compulsory licensing, and scope for export of drugs to least developed countries based on the national emergency and corresponding request from those countries, without any compulsory licensing requirements.

As per the amendments, all drugs that are currently marketed by Indian companies will continue to be marketed even if patents are granted to the innovator companies based on their mailbox applications at a later stage. In such instances, the Indian manufacturer would have to pay a royalty to the innovator from the date of the grant of patent.