The Hindu : National : Ordinance expands product patent facility

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Dec 28, 2004

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National

Ordinance expands product patent facility

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, DEC. 27. An ordinance promulgated on Sunday to amend the Indian Patents Act has extended patent protection to products in all fields of technology, including drugs, food and chemicals, which were earlier excluded. It has deleted the provision relating to Exclusive Marketing Rights (EMRs), which would now become redundant, and introduced a transitional provision for safeguarding the granted EMRs.

The third amendment is introduction of a provision to enable grant of compulsory licence for export of medicines to the countries that have insufficient or no manufacturing capacity to meet emergent public health situations, in accordance with the Doha Declarations on Trade Related Intellectual Property rights (TRIPs) and public health. Another feature is introduction of a facility to oppose a patent application prior to its grant as well as facility for post-grant opposition. The Government has improved upon this amendment as the earlier legislation had a post-grant opposition facility.

Also, to protect those who have introduced products during 1995 — when the WTO came into existence — and 2005, the amendment adds a new proviso to circumscribe rights in respect of mailbox applications. The applications for patents are those which have been put up since 1995 and were pending decision till product patent facility was available. It has now been stipulated that patent rights for mailbox applications would be available only from the date of grant of patent and from the date of publication.

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