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PATENT

1.INTRODUCTION :
A Patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a state to an inventor or his assignee for a
fixed period of time in exchange for a disclosure of an invention.
The procedure for granting patents, the requirements placed on the patentee and the extent of
the exclusive rights vary widely between countries according to national laws and
international agreements. Typically, however, a patent application must include one or more
claims defining the invention which must be new, inventive, and useful or industrially
applicable. In many countries, certain subject areas are excluded from patents, such as
business methods and mental acts. The exclusive right granted to a patentee in most countries
is the right to prevent or exclude others from making, using, selling, offering to sell or
importing the invention.
Patent usually refers to a right granted to anyone who invents or discovers any new and
useful process, machine, article of manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and
useful improvement thereof. The additional qualification utility patents is used in countries
such as the United States to distinguish them from other types of patents but should not be
confused with utility models granted by other countries. Examples of particular species of
patents for inventions include biological patents, business method patents, chemical patents
and software patents.
some other types of intellectual property rights are referred to as patents in some
jurisdictions: industrial design rights are called design patents in some jurisdictions (they
protect the visual design of objects that are not purely utilitarian), plant breeders' rights are
sometimes called plant patents, and utility models or Gebrauchsmuster are sometimes called

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petty patents or innovation patents. This article relates primarily to patent for an invention,
although so-called petty patents and utility models may be granted for inventions.

1.1The following are not patentable as per the patent laws :

1. An invention contrary to laws of nature like gravitational force etc.


2. An invention contrary to laws of laws of public health & morality like toxic drugs.
3. Mere discovery of scientific principles or abstract theories.
4. Mere discovery of any new property or new use for known substance or mere use of known
process or machine.
5. Substance obtained by mere ad mixture – no new product.
6. Mere arrangement or rearrangement of known devices working independently.
7. A method for agriculture & horticulture
8. A mathematical or business method or a computer program.
9. More scheme or rule or method of performing mental act or method of playing game.
10. Method of treatment of animal or human beings.
11. An invention relating to traditional knowledge. (traditional drugs)
12. An invention relating to atomic energy.

 An invention if already known to public or is in use is not patentable


 An invention if already patented any where any where in world is not patentable.
 If any patent application has been filed prior than your application for the same invention.

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1.2Types and categories of patent :

1.2a Metabolite patents :


The brand-name companies have listed and sued generic companies for infringement of
metabolite patents. A metabolite is the chemical compound into which a patient’s body
metabolizes or converts the active ingredient of a drug product. Often the metabolite, rather
than the active ingredient itself, produces the drug’s therapeutic effect in the body. Only
patients, and not the generic applicant, can directly infringe a metabolite patent; they do so by
ingesting the approved drug product and then metabolizing it into the claimed compound.
Typically, the patentee charges that the generic applicant will induce or contribute to the
infringement of the metabolite patent by selling its drug to patients who then metabolize.
A brand-name company appropriately may list patents claiming metabolites or the use of
metabolites in the Orange Book could be clarified through FDA regulation or guidance.

1.2b Polymorph Patents :

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Another category of patents that raises listing g questions includes those patents claiming a
chemical compound that differs by water-of-hydration or that forms a crystalline structure
different from the active ingredient approved by FDA through the NDA. For instance, the
FDA has approved the anhydrate form of gabapentin (having no water) but the Orange Book
contains a patent claiming the monohydrate form of gabapentin (having one water molecule
in its crystalline structure for each gabapentin molecule). Compounds differing in this way,
or by the way in which the individual molecules arrange in a crystalline structure, are called
polymorphs.
Examples
Prilosec (omeprazole, Patent No. 4,636,499)
BuSpar (buspirone, Patent No. 6,150,365).
Paxil (paroxetine hydrochloride)
Neurontin (gabapentin).
Hytrin (terazosin hydrochloride)
The generic applicants in the omeprazole litigation moved for summary judgment that they
did not contribute to or induce infringement of the ‘499 patent. The district court granted that
motion based, in part, on the argument of the generic applicants that the patent could not
cover a patient’s ingesting and metabolizing omeprazole because that activity was prior art to
the patent.

1.2c Drug Intermediate Patents


The “intermediate” patents listed in the Orange Book present a category that may not literally
claim the approved drug product. An intermediate patent claims a chemical compound that is
used during the production of an active ingredient, but is not present in the final, marketed
form of the drug product. The claimed compound is an “intermediate” on the pathway to the
approved drug.
EXAMPLE
Aredia (pamidronte disodium)

1.2d Product patent:


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A product patent means the grant of a monopoly right to produce that product which
necessarily means preventing any other person from producing the same product, whether
improved or otherwise, even by adopting a different or new process, for the period of patent.

1.2e process patent:


If the result of new process is a new article or a better article or a cheaper article than that
produced by an old method, the process is patentable & is called as process patent. In other
words, a new and alternative method of arriving at the same result, irrespective of whether
that result is better or cheaper, is patentable.
Though process patents should not impair the
commercialization of a product obtained with a different method, broadly drafted claims -and
the reversal of the burden of proof- may be used to threaten competitors or to effectively
exclude them from the market.

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2. History of patent :

2.1 Etymology :

The word patent originates from the LATIN patere, which means "to lay open" (i.e., to make
available for public inspection), and more directly as a shortened version of the term letters
patent which originally denoted a royal decree granting exclusive rights to a person.
History of patent goes back to thousand-year back. Although we often think of information
modification as a new process, history of intellectual property goes back to some of the
farthest reaches of our recorded history. In fact, according to a scholar the book was one of
very fine commodities. Greece in the 5th century B.C. and its active book trade, for the first
example of buying & selling information.
"Encouragement was held out to all who should discover any new refinement in luxury, the
profits arising from which were secured to the inventor by patent for the space of a year."
………………….Sybaris (about 500 BC)1
The rise of this intellectual market coincided with a renewed acknowledgement within the
culture of existence of the individual creative self, as well as with the development of
commerce and urban societies. Previously, it had been not originality, but craftsmanship
within established forms, that have been valued; oral cultures like that of earlier Greek
societies had viewed creative works as collectively produced, and as entities to be imitated
and b other in every society. There were communities & persons who were only authorized to
make a particular product upon by others. Later on medieval era patent system was present in
some form or other in every society. There were communities & person to make a particular
product.
A number of international conventions on intellectual property have been adopted since last
century covering different areas of industrial property, copyright law and other specialized
matters (such as breeder’s right). The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) &
UNIESCO are responsible for administering the main conventional force.
The TRIP negotiations were conducted within GATT and the provisions of the resulting
agreement are enforceable within the frame work of WTO – a forum without any tradition of
work in field of IPRs.
[Table No 1]

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1200S 10- YEARS MONOPOLIES GRANTED IN VENICE, ITALY TO INVENTORS
OF SILK - MAKING DEVICES .

1449 FIRST RECORDED PATENT GRANTED IN ENGLAND FOR A GLASS -


MAKING PROCESS FIRST PATENT STATUTE PASSED IN VINCE .

1624 STATUTE OF MONOPOLIES ISSUED IN ENGLAND.

1790 FIRST AMERICAN STATUTE WAS PASSED .

1791 FIRST FRENCH STATUTE WAS PASSED .

1880-1882 PATENT STATUTE INTRODUCED IN MOST EUROPEAN COUNTRIES.

1883 PARIS CONVECTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY


CORNERSTONE OF MODERN INTERNATIONAL PATENT SYSTEM.

1947 INTERNATIONAL PATENT INSTITUTE (IIB) ESTABLISHED AT THE


HAGUE.

1970 PATENT COOPERATION TREATY SIGNED IN W ASHINGTON, D.C.

1978 INTERNATIONAL PATENT INSTITUTE INTEGRATED INTO THE


EUROPEAN PATENT OFFICE (EPO).

1979 BAYH-DOLE ACT PASSED –GRANTED PERMISSION TO U.S.


UNIVERSITIES TO LICENCE AND PROFIT FROM FEDERALLY
SPONSORED RESEARCH .

1980 INTERNATIONAL PATENT DOCUMENTATION CENTRE (INPADOC)


INTEGRATED INTO EPO.

2.2 Waxman-Hatch history.

The 1984 Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act (1984 amendments) was
enacted on September 24, 1984. This act gave the agency clear statutory authority for FDA
approval of pre- and post- 1962 generic drugs. It also provided for reduced cost of health care
with the use of generic drugs and for elimination of duplicative clinical trials. This act
included measures to assure continued development of new drugs through patent extension
and exclusivity granted to certain new drug applications (NDAs). The passage of the 1984
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amendments was a compromise to achieve balance between the innovator or pioneer drug
industry and the generic drug industry.

The act encouraged and awarded innovative new drug development while at the same time
made more drug products eligible for generic competition. Costly clinical trials that
established the safety and effectiveness of the drug would not need to be repeated in order for
a generic drug to enter the marketplace. Once information has been established about a drug,
there is no requirement for a second sponsor to prove the safety and efficacy a second time or
‘‘re-prove’’ an already established fact. The act that was passed was comprised of two parts,
Title I and Title II. Title I was the part of the act providing for increased eligibility of drug
products to be approved through ANDAs (abbreviated new drug applications) or generic
applications. Increased availability of generic drugs would lead to reduced costs of
healthcare. Title I also provided for exclusive marketing rights and patent protection for
innovator new drug applications and prohibits generic approval until expiration of the patents
listed in the Orange Book or expiration of the exclusive marketing rights. Title II of the 1984
Amendments was designed to promote development of new drugs and provided for up to five
years of patent extension to compensate for patent time lost due to the drug review process.

3 Origin of Indian patent system:


The Indian patent system had its origin in the “Act for granting exclusive privileges to
investors” of 1856 implemented by them ruling east Indian co. to protect UK monopoly
interests for unauthorized duplication by the native.
After India’s political independence, the UK-based law was successively amended based on
essentially the lesions of Europe and they ultimately led to the 1970 Act to match with needs
of new political economy regime.

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In august, 1998 India joined the Patent Co-operation Treaty (PCT) by acceding to the Paris
convection on intellectual property. The PCT extends the benefits of Paris convection by
allowing an inventor to file an “international patent application”. Patenting in India is a
lengthy process which lags behind that of other world nations. the average processing time
for a patent in India is 4 years from the date of filling, followed by another year for granting
of a patent once accepted. This application dose not mature into an international patent but
rather extends the grace period up to 30 months for an inventor to take further action to
obtain a patent in each PCT member country where one is desired. The PCT serves to
simplify and make more economical the painting process in foreign countries and facilitate
the availability of technical information in member countries. Most member of the PCT.
With a 2-3 year processing time in the United States and even a matter of weeks in Australia.
Additionally, In January, 1998 the World Trade Organization (WTO) formally requested that
India change is patent laws for pharmaceutical and agro-chemical products to comply with
international agreements India’s1970 Patents Act recognizes process patents but not product
patents for pharmaceuticals and grants drug patents for only 7-year duration. Often this short
duration is not long enough for a new drug to be brought a market. India has 15 months from
februnary,1998 to amend its patents laws or else face possible sanctions such as the
suspension of U.S. tariff reductions.

[Table no. 2]
[Table No. 2]

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1852 CERTAIN EXCLUSIVE PRIVILEGES GRANTED TO
INVENTORS OF NEW MANUFACTURES FOR A PERIOD
OF 14 YEARS

1856 THE ACT VI 1856 ON PROTECTION OF


OF
INVENTIONS BASED ON THE B RITISH PATENT LAW OF

1859 THE ACT MODIFIED AS ACT XV; PATENT


MONOPOLIES CALLED EXCLUSIVE PRIVILEGES
(MAKING, SELLING AND USING INVENTIONS IN INDIA
AND AUTHORIZING OTHER TO DO SO FOR 14 YEARS
FROM DATE OF FILLING SPECIFICATION )

1872 THE PATENT AND DESIGNS PROTECTION ACT

1883 THE PROTECTION OF INVENTIONS ACT

1888 CONSOLIDATED AS THE INVENTIONS & DESIGNS


ACT

1911 THE INDIAN PATENT & DESIGNS ACT

1972 THE PATENT ACT (ACT 39 OF 1970) CAME INTO


FORCE ON 20TH APRIL 1972

1999 ON MARCH 26, 1999 PATENTS (AMENDMENT) ACT


(1999) CAME INTO FORCE FROM 01-01-1995

2002 THE PATENTS (AMENDMENT) ACT 2002 CAME


INTO FORCE FROM 20 TH M AY 2003

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4.Definitions & explanations :
4.1 Intellectual Property :
Intellectual property is a property which refers to creation of mind for example an invention,
new design of an article, literary and artist work & symbol/trademarks, for ultimate use in
commerce & which are not available to public domain.
4.2Intellectual property rights (IPRs) :
IPRs are statutory rights & allow the creator(s) or owner(s) of Intellectual property to
exclude others from exploiting the same commercially for a given period of time. It allows
the creator(s)/owner(s) to have benefit from their work when these are exploited
commercially by himself or by his assignees. IPRs are granted to an inventor or innovator in
lieu of the discloser of his knowledge.
IPRs are governed in accordance with the provisions of the corresponding legislations and
can be monopolized and protected under provisions of different Acts such as :
1. The patent Act.
2. The Designs Act.
3. The Copyright Act.
4. The Trademark Act
4.3 INVENTION means
1. A new product or process
2. Involving inventive steps.
3. Capable of industrial application
New product (not a drug or medicine) or process means that the invented item/product or
process, not exactly similar that the item/product or process which is known /available in
prior art that is the alleged product or process is not available in public domain.

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4.4 INDUSTRIAL application means that the product is capable of being manufactured by
applying an industrial process and is useful for the society/industries at large scale.
4.5 INNOVATION
The successful exploitation of new ideas in form of useful machinery or process, by any
person, using own intellect is called as innovation. Every innovation may not be patentable,
but every invention is an innovation

4.6 Comparison between Inventor & non Inventor.

Inventor Non inventor

A person who makes inventive contribution A person who participates only in the
to at least one claim as claimed in the patent reduction of the invention without
application contributing anything to the final, complete
conception of the invention

A person who is the actual deviser of the Such persons who have helped in conducting
invention the experiments etc., without providing any
intellectual inputs

A person who contributes towards the Such persons who have helped in conducting
development of patentable features i.e. the experiments etc., without providing any
novelty, inventive step and industrial intellectual inputs
application .

Inventor to be able to identify a specific Then the person who does the routine work
component of the invention as his own idea. may be regarded as the “extended technical
He must be able to say that he contributed to arm” of the inventor
its conception.

[Table No. 3]

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5. Trademark: ® ™
A trademark or trade mark identified by the symbols ™ and ®, or mark is a distinctive
sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization or other legal entity to identify
that the goods or services with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source of
origin. Products or services to consumers, and to distinguish its products or services from
those of other entities. A trademark is a type of intellectual property, and typically a name,
word, phrase, logo, symbol, design, image, or a combination of these elements.
The owner of a registered trademark may commence legal proceedings for trademark
infringement to prevent unauthorized use of that trademark. However, registration is not
required.

5.1 TRADE MARK SEARCH CAN BE DONE AT TWO LEVELS:


 On the basis of records available with us, i.e. of marks advertised in trademarks journals and
report shall be provided to you in one working day.
 Government level, of the marks either registered or pending for registration and the report
available is up-to-date and report shall be provided to you in two working days

5.2 PROCEDURE OF REGISTRATION :-


a) The Application is filed.
b) Then the application is examined by the Trade Mark Office and objections, if any, are
raised.
c) After clearing the objections, if any, the mark is advertised in Trade Marks Journal & is
open to third party opposition period of 4 months.
d) The registration certificate is issued in 4-6 months after the completion of opposition
period, if there is no opposition by the third party during this period.

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e) In case of opposition, registration certificate is issued when the opposition is dismissed.
5.3 RENEWAL:
The Trade Mark once registered has to be renewed after every 10 years.
5.6 TERM OF TRADE MARK :
Unlimited as long as it is renewed as per law.

6. Copyright:

Copyright is a right given by the law to creators of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic
works and producers of cinematograph films and sound recordings. In fact, it is a bundle of
rights including, inter alia, rights of reproduction, communication to the public, adaptation
and translation of the work. There could be slight variations in the composition of the rights
depending on the work.

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Copyright applies to any medium. This means that you must not reproduce copyright
protected work in another medium without permission. This includes, publishing photographs
on the internet, making a sound recording of a book, and so on. Copyright does not protect
ideas for a work. However, when an idea is fixed, for example in writing, copyright
automatically protects it. This means that you do not have to apply for copyright.
A copyright protected work can have more than one copyright, or another intellectual
property (IP) right, connected to it.

6.1 Protection of copyright :


Copyright ensures certain minimum safeguards of the rights of authors over their creations,
thereby protecting and rewarding creativity. Creativity being the keystone of progress, no
civilized society can afford to ignore the basic requirement of encouraging the same.
Economic and social development of a society is dependent on creativity. The protection
provided by copyright to the efforts of writers, artists, designers, dramatists, musicians,
architects and producers of sound recordings, cinematograph films and computer software,
creates an atmosphere conducive to creativity, which induces them to create more and
motivates others to create.

6.2 Procedure for registration of a work under the copyright act, 1957
Copyright comes into existence as soon as a work is created and no formality is required to
be completed for acquiring copyright. However, facilities exist for having the work registered
in the Register of Copyrights maintained in the Copyright Office of the Department of
Education. The entries made in the Register of Copyrights serve as prima-facie evidence in
the court of law. The Copyright Office has been set up to provide registration facilities to all
types of works and is headed by a Registrar of Copyrights and is located at B.2/W.3, C.R.
Barracks, Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi- 110 003, Tel: 338 4387.

6.3 Guidelines regarding registration of a work under the copyright act


 Application for registration is to be made on Form IV ( Including Statement of Particulars
and Statement of Further Particulars) as prescribed in the first schedule to the Rules.
 Separate applications should be made for registration of each work;
 Each application should be accompanied by the requisite fee prescribed in the second
schedule to the Rules ; and

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 The applications should be signed by the applicant or the advocate in whose favor a
Vakalatnama or Power of Attorney has been executed. The Power of Attorney signed by the
party and accepted by the advocate should also be enclosed.

6.4 Powers of copyright board :


The Chairman of the Board is of the level of a judge of a High Court. The Board has the
power to:
(1) Hear appeals against the orders of the Registrar of Copyright.
(2) Hear applications for rectification of entries in the Register of Copyrights.
(3) Adjudicate upon disputes on assignment of copyright.
(4) Grant compulsory licenses to publish or republish works.
(5) Grant compulsory license to produce and publish a translation of a literary or dramatic work
in any language after a period of seven years from the first publication of the work
(6) Hear and decide disputes as to whether a work has been published or about the date of
publication or about the term of copyright of a work in another country.
(7) Fix rates of royalties in respect of sound recordings under the cover-version provision.
(8) Fix the resale share right in original copies of a painting, a sculpture or a drawing and of
original manuscripts of a literary or dramatic or musical work.

6.5 Registrar of copyrights and judicial powers


(1) Summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on oath;
(2) Requiring the discovery and production of any document;
(3) Receiving evidence on affidavit;
(4) Issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses or documents;
(5) Requisitioning any public record or copy thereof from any court or office;
(6) Any other matters which may be prescribed.

6.6 Copyright society


A copyright society is a registered collective administration society. Such a society is formed
by copyright owners. The minimum membership required for registration of a society is
seven. Ordinarily, only one society is registered to do business in respect of the same class of
work. A copyright society can issue or grant licenses in respect of any work in which
copyright subsists or in respect of any other right given by the Copyright Act

6.7 Functions of a copyright society

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a. Issue licenses in respect of the rights administered by the society.
b. Collect fees in pursuance of such licenses.
c. Distribute such fees among owners of copyright after making deductions for the
administrative expenses.

7. BRIEF Background Of Indian Pharmaceutical Industry :


Indian Pharmaceutical industry is undergoing fast paced changes. The Indian Generics
market is witnessing rapid growth opening up immense opportunities for firms. This is
further triggered by the fact that generics worth over $40 billion are going off patent in the
coming few years which is close to 15% of the total prescription market of the US. The
Indian pharmaceutical companies have been doing extremely well in developed markets such
as US and Europe. The quality and affordability of generic drugs have made India a virtual
pharmacy to the world. Nearly 70 percent of generic drugs manufactured in India are
exported to other developing countries. The expansion of AIDS treatment over the past few
years has been driven by the accessibility and affordability of generic ARVs (anti-retro viral
drugs) from India. For example, Lesotho buys nearly 95 percent of all its ARVs from India;
90 percent of the ARVs used in Zimbabwe AIDS treatment program come from India. Indian
generic drugs have even enabled the U.S. Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief
(PEPFAR) to rapidly expand access to AIDS treatment. Of the 36 generic AIDS drugs
approved by the Food & Drug Administration for use in PEPFAR, 33 are produced in India.
In 2006, purchase of generic drugs saved PEPFAR nearly $1.7 million, and thousands more
people could access ARVs because of these cost savings.
Parma multinationals have maintained a low-key presence in Indian market due to absence of
product patents and rigid price controls. In the domestic market, the share of Indian
companies has steadily increased from around 20 per cent in 1970 to 70 percent now.
Ranbaxy Laboratories is the market leader in terms of revenues followed by Cipla and Dr

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Reddys Laboratories. Glaxo is the only multinational to figure among the top ten pharma
companies in India. The companies have their strategies in place to leverage opportunities
and appropriate values existing in formulations, bulk drugs, generics, Novel Drug Delivery
Systems, New Chemical Entities, and Biotechnology etc. The industry ranks fourth globally
in terms of volume and in terms of value, it is ranked thirteenth.
The industry has thrived so far on reverse engineering skills exploiting the lack of process
patent in the country. This has resulted in the Indian pharmaceutical players offering their
products at some of the lowest prices in the world. The quality of the products is reflected in
the fact that India has the highest number of manufacturing plants approved by US FDA,
which is next only to that in the US.
Patents Act 1970 in its original form does not differentiate between Process and Product
patents for medicines, food and chemicals. One of the important features of the Act was that
it did not provide product patents for the three mentioned industries. These industrial sectors
were covered by product patent only. In addition the Drug Price control Order, 1970 put a cap
on the maximum price that could be charged and ensured that the life saving drugs are
available at reasonable prices. The Act of 1970 safeguards the interests of the inventor and
consumer in a even-handed manner. The Act has been promulgated in keeping with the
Socialistic Principles outlined in the Directive Principles of State Policy.

7.1 Top ten pharmaceutical industries in India :

S.no. Company name turnover


1 Ranbaxy Rs 251.96 billion.
2 Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Rs 41.622 billion.
3 Cipla Rs 37.637 billion.
4 Sun Pharma Industries Rs 24.635 billion.
5 Lupin Labs Rs 22.155 billion.
6 Aurobindo Pharma Rs 20.801 billion.
7 GlaxoSmithKline Pharma Rs 17.734 billion.
8 Cadila Healthcare Rs 16.13 billion.
9 Aventis Pharma Rs 9.838 billion.
10 Ipca Laboratories Rs 9.804 billion.

[Table no 4]

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8. The Pharmaceutical Industry and the Indian Patent System:
In 1970, India put into place a series of policies aimed at moving the country
towards self-sufficiency in medicines. At this time, the national sector was very small,
estimated at less than 25%of the domestic pharmaceutical market (Redwood, 1994). Of the
top ten firms by retail sales, only two were Indian firms and the rest were subsidiaries of
multinationals much of the country’s pharmaceutical consumption was met by import.

An important part of the policy package was the passage of the Patents Act 1970 (effective
April, 1972). This legislation greatly weakened intellectual property protection in India,
particularly for pharmaceutical innovations. Pharmaceutical product innovations, as well
as those for food and agrochemicals, became unpatentable, allowing innovations
patented elsewhere to be freely copied and marketed in India. The statutory term was
shortened to 5 to 7 years on pharmaceutical process patents and automatic licensing was
put in place. As a result, the number of patents granted per year fell by three-quarters over
the following decade, from 3,923 in 1970-71 (of which 629 were to Indian applicants,
3,294 to foreign applicants) down to 1,019 in 1980-81 (349 Indian, 670 foreign) .
Although all inventors were affected by the weakened patent regime, it is clear that
foreigners, in particular, no longer found taking out a patent in India worthwhile.
Other aspects of the policy package set up to encourage the domestic production of
pharmaceuticals included restrictions on the import of finished formulations, high
tariff rates, ratio requirements (where imports of bulk drugs had to be matched by
purchases from domestic sources at a fixed ratio) and equity ceilings on foreign
participation. Further, the strict price control regulation which was introduced with the
1970 Drugs Price Control Order, while making the production of pharmaceuticals less
profitable for all firms selling in the Indian market, made it relatively less interesting
for foreign firms with market options elsewhere. Thus even the price control regime

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probably contributed to the shift towards a greater share of production being met by Indian
firms.
Supported by this regulatory environment, by 1991, Indian firms accounted for 70% of
the bulk drugs and 80% of formulations produced in the country (Hamied, 1993). Of the
top ten firms by 1996 pharmaceutical sales, six are now Indian firms rather than the
subsidiaries of foreign multinationals. Domestic firms now produce about 350 of the
500 bulk drugs consumed in the country (Government of India, 1994). Employment in
the pharmaceutical sector was estimated to have reached almost half a million by 19.

INDIAN PHARMA IPO US PCT EPO REVENUE/ REVENUE/

S.No COMPANIES PUBLIS PUBLISHE PUBLISHE PUBLISH NO. OF NO. OF

HED D PATENT D APPLS ED PATENT PATENT


PATENT APPLS APPLS PUBLICATIO PUBLICATIO
APPLS NS AT THE NS AT THE

IPO IPO, US,


(RATIO) EP AND

PCT
1 RANBAXY 320 108 458 194 8.9 2.6
LABORATORIES
2 DR REDDY'S 315 27 113 39 8.3 5.3
LABORATORIES
3 ORCHID 149 17 47 11 4.3 2.8
CHEMICALS &
PHARMACEUTICALS
4 CADILA 148 17 67 23 6.8 3.9
HEALTHCARE
5 CIPLA 138 27 67 39 16.6 8.5
6 SUN 121 18 81 12 11.4 5.9
PHARMACEUTICAL
INDUSTRIES

[Table No. 5]

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9. PATENTS AMENDMENT ACT (2005) :

The Patent Amendment Act 2005 passed by the Parliament in its budget session of 2005
brings the Indian Patent Act in full conformity with the intellectual property system in all
respects. This replaced an ordinance promulgated on December 2004 to meet WTO
obligations. Some of the major amendments have been introduced in Sections 2 and 3 which
are as follows:
Section 2 of the Patent Act is the definition clause:
According to Section 2(j) invention means a new product or process involving an inventive
step and capable of industrial applications.
Inventive step means a feature of an invention that involves technical advance as compared
to existing knowledge or having economic significance or both and that makes the invention
not obvious to a person skilled in art.
Thus an invention in order to be patentable, should:
(i) involve an inventive step capable of industrial application;
(ii) which should involve technical advances as compared to the existing knowledge or
having economic significance or both; and
(iii) be not obvious to a person skilled in art.
Section 3 outlines various situations where an invention (properly so called) can yet be not
patentable. Section 3(d) of the Patents Act 1970 has been amended under the new Act to
prescribe a class of discovery which cannot be subject matter of patent; it reads as follows:
(d) mere discovery of a new form of known substance which does not result in the
enhancement of the known efficacy of that substance or the mere discovery of any new
property or new use for a known substance or the mere use of a known process, machine or

RKDF COLLEGE OF PHARMACY Page 21


apparatus unless such known process results in a new product or employs at least employs
one new reactant.
Product Patents have been extended to fields of technology such as drugs, food and chemicals
but granting of patents are subject to restrictions as mentioned above (Section 3(d)). This
section prevents frivolous inventions from being patented.
The amendments introduced in the Patents Act exhibit the essence of patentability in the
pharmaceuticals and chemicals is inventive ingenuity, novelty and existence of industrial
application or economic significance of the new product or process.

9.1 The amendment introduced by the Patents (Amendment) Act, 2005 and
the problems relating to it is as follows:
 The definition of the term “Pharmaceutical substances” as given under the new act is too
broad and ambiguous. The amendment describes “Pharmaceutical substances” as “any new
entity involving one or more inventive steps”. The term “chemical” should have been added
so as to read as “any chemical entity”

 The term “inventive step” has been modified under this definition broadens the existing
provision to the benefit of the paten holders and it provides for two criteria for meeting an
inventive step and hence is quite ambiguous. As the new amendment stands now, for meeting
the criteria of an inventive step the patentee will have to show that the invention includes a
“technical advance” or has economic significance or both. The provision should have
required the applicant to comply with both the requirements for meeting the inventive step
requirement. Otherwise it leads to the dilution of the inventive step requirement by the fact
that a patent could be granted on economic significance alone.

 Section 3(d) of the Patents Act, 1970 has been amended under the new Act to read as follows
- “The mere discovery of a new form of a known substance which does not result in the
enhancement of the known efficacy of that substance or the mere discovery of any new
property or new use for a known substance or the mere use of a known process, machine or
apparatus unless such known process results in a new product or employs.

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 Least employs “one new reactant”. The phrase “does not result in the enhancement of the
known efficacy” is too broad and ambiguous and can lead to ever greening of patents as it
may lead to new forms of existing substances to become patented.

10. Criteria for obtaining patent:


The basic obligation in area of patents is that, inventions in all fields of technology whether
products or processes shall be patentable if they meet the tests of
1. Being novel.
2. Involving an inventive step.
Being capable of industrial application.

10.1 Patent could be applied by :


An application for obtaining a patent can be filled at respective office by
1. A true& first inventor (individuals(s)) who holds the rightful ownership in invention due to
fact that he invented the same,
2. A person/company who is an assignee of first and true inventor and
3. A legal representative of the first and true inventor, in case of death of the true & first
inventor.
A patent application can be filled by himself or by patent agent/attorney on behalf of the
inventor/assignee/legal representative.

10.2 A patent application should be filled to :


1. Protect and enjoy the exclusive monopoly IP rights.
2. Get the certificate of patent to establish the legal ownership & to enforce the monopoly rights
against the infringer&
3. Use the certificate as the evidence of ownership to get different kind of licenses &
permissions required for manufacturing & selling the product.

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11. Registration of patents :
Patents are registered with the controller general of patents, designs and trademark. The head
office is in Calcutta, with branch offices in Delhi, Mumbai & madras. Application must be
filled in appropriate office, with a provisional specification or a complete specification. The
patent application and specifications are studied by the examiners (eighteen months time is
given to examine).
Once specification is accepted, the notice of patent is advertised in government’s official
gazette. Three months time is given for notice of opposition. The opposition is to be replied
to by the applicant within a month. Thereafter, the application is accepted or rejected . if
application is accepted, the patent is sealed. A patent is dated as of to complete specification
was filed.
For items as food or medicine, the process patent is granted for five years from the date of
sealing or seven years from date of patent. Patent can be legally assigned or mealy licensed to
other parties, for use in India or any part of country.
Beside this process, the government may on a reciprocal basis, declare any other country as a
“convention” country, for the purpose of fulfilling any treaty. In such a case if a patent holder
abroad maker application in India within 12 months of having applied for a patent abroad, his
patent production in India will start from the same date it starts in his own country. India is a
signatory to patent convention treaty, 1970.

11.1 REQUIREMENTS FOR FILING THE PATENT IN INDIA


1. Full name, address & nationality of applicant (s) and inventor (s).
2. Specification, provisional / complete drawings, claims and abstract.
3. List of countries to claim priority, if any, where the application / applications for the grant
of patent has / have been filed, along with date and application number.
4. POWER OF ATTORNEY (if the patent application is filed through a patent attorney )

11.2 PROCEDURE FOR THE GRANT OF PATENT


 After filing Patent Application in India, a Request for Examination is filed with the Patent
Office.
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 Thereafter the application is examined by patent office and objections, if any, are raised
thereto.
 After removal of all the objections, the Patent is granted and is advertised for Opposition
Purposes.
 The Patent is Open for third party opposition(s), if any, for a period of ONE YEAR from the
date of advertisement.

11.3 RENEWAL
The patent is renewed every year from the date of patent.

11.4 TERM OF PATENT


20 YEARS

11.5 Patent specification:


A patent specification discloses the details of the invention for which the patent protection is
sought. The legal rights in a patent are based on the discloser made in the specifications are of
two kinds:
(1) Provisional specification
(2) Complete Specification

11.6 Date of priority:


The date of priority is the date on which the patent application either with provisional
specification or with complete specification is filed at the patent office.
*The date of priority is the date of filing of the application.

11.7 Fee for a patent application:


The fee for filing a patent application by an individual is Rs.750/-and by the legal entity other
than individual Rs.3000/.

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11.8 F O R M –format
F O R M – 23
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION OF PATENT AGENT

I beg to apply for registration as a patent A certificate of character .1… from ……


agent under the Patents Act, 1970. ……………………
1. Certificate testifying to the character …………………………………………
of the applicant should be from a person ……………………….
not related to him and being a Gazetted …………………………………………
Officer or any other person whom the …………………………………………
Controller thinks fit. Is enclosed herewith.
2. family or principal name in the I hereby declare that I am not subject to
beginning. any of the disqualification specified in
Rule 114 of the Patents Rules, 1972 and
3, Either original certificates that the information given below is true
and other documents or to the best of my knowledge and belief:
copies thereof duly 1. Name .2.. 1
attested by the Gazetted -------------------------------------------------
Officer or any person -
whom the Controller 2. Address/place
thinks fit must be sent of residence :
with the application. -------------------------------------------------
4. To be signed by the applicant. ----------------------------------
5. Name of the natural person who has 3. Principal place
signed. of business : ----------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------
-
4. Address of the
branch office
if any : ----------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------
-
5. Father’s name: ----------------------------
6. Nationality : -------------------------------
7. Date and place
of birth : --------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------
-
8. Occupation : ------------------------------
9. Particulars of
qualification
for registration
as patent agent .3..: (a)
----------------------
(b)--------------------
(c) ----------------------------------------
Dated this ……………. Day of ………
…………….20 .
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Signature 4 (……..)

11.9 The procedure for the grant of a patent is as follows:


1. Filing of the patent application at the patent office
2. Filing of request for examination in the prescribed format, at the patent office
3. Examination of the patent application by the examiner of the patent office, as per the turn
of the request for examination and communicating the objections, if any, to the applicant
(called as the first examination report)
4. Re-filing the documents at the patent office within four months from the date of the first
examination report after attending the objections
5. Re-examination of the documents filed by the applicant/patent agent of the applicant, and
sending the objection (second examination report)
6. The applicant has a period of eight months to answer the objections and to re-file the
documents at the patent office after attending the objection
7. Re-examination of the documents as filed by the applicant and sending the objection to the
applicant.
8. Re-filing the documents by the applicant after attending the objections.
9. The process of re-examination and re-filing the documents repeats till the application is either
accepted or rejected within a period of 12 months(Four + eight)

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10. If the application does not comply with the objection, the application is abandoned.
11. If the applicants comply with the objections, then the patent office sends an informal notice
of acceptance to the application that the claims have been accepted.
12. The complete specification is then published with the accepted claims in the gazette and the
opposition can be filed to oppose the grant of the patent, within four months (or five months
with an extension of one month) from the date of publication.
13. If there is no opposition filed in the prescribed time limit then application is treated as
accepted.
14. The notice is then sent by the patent office to the applicant to pay sealing and renewal fee.
15. If the applicant pays the fees then the documents are sealed and the certificate of the Patent is
issued by the patent office to the applicant and thus the grant of the patent is completed.

11.10. Opposition:
An opposition is a process by which any party can oppose or resist the registration or grant of
a patent. The proceeding is presided over by the Controller of Patent. If the opposing party is
able to prove his opposition the patent is rejected. If the applicant is able to prove that the
opposition is frivolous and baseless then the opposition is rejected.

11.11. The following can be the grounds of opposition:


 Wrongful obtaining a patent by the applicant
 Prior publication in India or elsewhere
 Prior claim in concurrent application
 Prior public use or public knowledge in India
 Obviousness & lack of inventive step.
 Invention not patentable under Act
 Insufficient description of the invention.
 Failure to disclose information regarding foreign application.
 Not filed within one year, if it is a convention application.

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 Not disclosure or wrongly mentioning the source of geographical origin of biological material
used for invention.
 If no opposition is filed within the prescribed time then the patent application is proceeded to
next stage of the grant that is publication of accepted claim.
 An extension application for one month can be filled by interested person for filing an
opposition, but the extension application has to filed on or before the expiry of the four
months time limit.

12. The Global Institutions Responsible for Administering the Patent


System.

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12.1 National Patent Offices
Every country with a patent system has a national patent office where claims of inventors
may be made a matter of public record. As mentioned above, in many countries there is an
examination before an inventor is given any substantive rights. In other countries patent
clams are registered but detailed examination is delayed until a dispute over infringement
arises. However, even in these countries a search of the prior art is often conducted as a part
of the registration process, and the search results are published so that members of the public
can assess the claims made by the registrant.

12.2 The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Headquartered in


Geneva, WIPO is the specialized United Nations Agency that serves as the secretariat for
administration of most of the global intellectual property treaties. It is the principal forum
for negotiation of new patent treaties and the leading provider of technical assistance to

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developing countries in the field of intellectual property rights. WIPO was created in
1967 as the successor organization to the International Bureau for the Protection of
Intellectual Property, which had been in existence since the 19th Century. WIPO Currently has
179 member states.

12.3 The World Trade Organization (WTO)


The World Trade Organization was established in 1994 in Marrakech following the
successful conclusion of the Uruguay Round of Trade Negotiations. The predecessor to the
WTO was the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). A key reform of the Uruguay
Round was the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, known
as TRIPS, codified as an annex to the treaty establishing the WTO.
It is important to recognize that the TRIPS Agreement was intended to create a
more equitable system of international trade. Wealthy countries agreed to reduce barriers to
imports of price competitive imports from abroad while developing countries agreed to open
their markets to the high value added exports of the developed nations. These high value
added exports disproportionately consist of technology in which much of the value is
intangible and must be protected by strong intellectual property regimes to be effectively
exploited. Pharmaceutical products constitute one of the most important categories of high
technology products.

12.4 Functions of WTO :


 WTO Member States must provide a level of rights equal to those provided in the major
global intellectual property treaties administered by WIPO, including the Paris Convention on
Industrial Property.
 WTO member states may not discriminate among technologies in providing patent
protection, meaning that exceptions to patent protection in many countries for pharmaceutical
products must be eliminated.
 WTO member states must provide patent protection for at least 20 years from the date of
filing a patent application
 WTO Member States must provide effective judicial enforcement of intellectual property
rights.

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 A TRIPS Council was created to coordinate WTO policy in the area of intellectual property
rights and to manage the resolution of disputes among states on implementation of TRIPS
obligations.

12.5 Patent Cooperation Treaty ("PCT")(1970):


The PCT was concluded in 1970, amended in 1979, and modified in 1984 and 2001.
The PCT is an international treaty, administered by the World Intellectual Property
Organization (WIPO), between more than 125 Paris Convention countries. The PCT
makes it possible to seek patent protection for an invention simultaneously in each of a
large number of countries by filing a single “international” patent application instead of
filing several separate national or regional patent applications. The granting of patents
remains under the control of the national or regional patent Offices in what is called the
“national phase”.
Briefly, an outline of the PCT procedure includes the following steps:

12.6 Filing :
Filling an international application, complying with the PCT formality requirements, in
one language, and pay one set of fees.

12.7 PCT Filing Trends (1978 – 2005)

* In 2005, over 134’000 PCT international applications were filed,

* 9.3% increase over the previous year.

* The graph below shows the growth in the number of international applications filed since
1978.

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12.8 International Publication:
As soon as possible after the expiration of 18 months from the earliest filing date, the
content of your international application is disclosed to the world.

12.9 International Preliminary Examination:

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An “International Preliminary Examining Authority (IPEA)” (one of the world’s major
patent Office), at your request, carries out an additional patentability analysis, usually on an
amended version of your application.

12.10 National Phase:


After the end of the PCT procedure, you start to pursue the grant of your patents directly
before the national (or regional) patent Offices of the countries in which you want to
obtain them.

12.11 Advantages of the Patent Cooperation Treaty :


a. Up to 18 months more than if you had not used the PCT to reflect on the desirability of
seeking protection in foreign countries, to appoint local patent agents in each foreign
country, to prepare the necessary translations and to pay the national fees;
b. On the basis of the international search report and the written opinion, you can
evaluate with reasonable probability the chances of your invention being patented;
c. You have the possibility during the optional international preliminary examination to
amend the international application and thus put it in order before processing by the various
patent Offices.
d. since each international application is published together with an international search report,
third parties are in a better position to formulate a well-founded opinion about the
potential patentability of the claimed invention.
e. For an applicant, international publication puts the world on notice of your application,
which can be an effective means of advertising and looking for potential licensees.

12.12 Ultimately, the PCT:


– Brings the world within reach;
– postpones the major costs associated with international patent
Protection;
– Provides a strong basis for patenting decisions; and
– Is used by the world’s major corporations, research institutions
and universities when they seek international patent protection.

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13. The agreement on trade aspect of intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)

.
The agreement on trade aspect of intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) is an international
agreement administered by the World Trade Organization (WTO) that sets down minimum
standards for many forms of intellectual property (IP) regulation. It was negotiated at the end
of the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade(GATT 1994).
Specifically, TRIPS contains requirements that nations' laws must meet for: copyright rights,
including the rights of performers, producers of sound recordings and broadcasting
organizations; geographical indications, including appellations of origin; industrial designs;
integrated circuit layout-designs; patents; monopolies for the developers of new plant
varieties; trademarks; trade dress; and undisclosed or confidential information. TRIPS also
specifies enforcement procedures, remedies, and dispute resolution procedures.
The TRIPS agreement introduced intellectual property law into the international trading
system for the first time and remains the most comprehensive international agreement on
intellectual property to date. In 2001, developing countries, concerned that developed
countries were insisting on an overly narrow reading of TRIPS, initiated a round of talks that
resulted in the Doha Declaration. The Doha declaration is a WTO statement that clarifies the
scope of TRIPS, stating for example that TRIPS can and should be interpreted in light of the
goal "to promote access to medicines for all.”

13.1 Background and history :


TRIPS was negotiated at the end of the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs
and Trade (GATT) in 1994. Its inclusion was the culmination of a program of intense

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lobbying by the United States, supported by the European Union, Japan and other developed
nations. Campaigns of unilateral economic encouragement under the Generalized System of
Preferences and coercion under Section 301 of the Trade Act played an important role in
defeating competing policy positions that were favored by developing countries, most notably
Korea and Brazil, but also including Thailand, India and Caribbean Basin states. In turn, the
United States strategy of linking trade policy to intellectual property standards can be traced
back to the entrepreneurship of senior management at Pfizer in the early 1980s, who
mobilized corporations in the United States and made maximizing intellectual property
privileges the number one priority of trade policy in the United States.
After the Uruguay round, the GATT became the basis for the establishment of the World
Trade Organization. Because ratification of TRIPS is a compulsory requirement of World
Trade Organization membership, any country seeking to obtain easy access to the numerous
international markets opened by the World Trade Organization must enact the strict
intellectual property laws mandated by TRIPS. For this reason, TRIPS is the most important
multilateral instrument for the globalization of intellectual property laws.

13.2 Scenario-pre TRIPS (On Indian pharmaceuticals):


The Indian Pharmaceutical industry is one of the largest in the developing world and is
ranked as the fourth largest in terms of production and 13th largest in terms of domestic
consumption value. Over the past 30 years Indian drug industry has emerged from almost
non-existent to a world leader in the production of generic drugs. With the changes brought
about by the patents act of 1970, Indian drug manufactures became experts in the field of
reverse engineering and increased its supply of less expensive copies of the worlds best-
selling patent protected drugs. This could only be possible because there was no product
patents system for drugs and medicines. While the patent act of 1970 in its original form does
provide a distinction between product patents and process patents, the exception provided in
section 5 of the act of 1970 (which has been omitted by the amendment of 2005) offered only
a process patent for food, medicine or drug substances and specifically excluded product
patents for the same. Thus India was able to copy foreign patented drugs without paying a
license fee and was able to make it available to the masses at one-tenth of the original price.
Moreover the Drug Price control Order, 1970 put a cap on the maximum price that could be
charged and ensured that the life saving drugs are available at reasonable prices. The Act of
1970 could be considered to be one of the most progressive statutes which safeguard both the
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interest of the inventor and the consumer in a balanced manner. Hence with a regulatory
system focusing on process patents and being in the grip of a rigid price control framework,
the Indian pharmaceutical industry has emerged from a import dependent industry to in the
1950’s to having achieved world wide recognition as a low cost producer of high quality
pharmaceutical products with an annual export turnover of more than $ 1.5 billion dollars.
The distinction between a product patent and process patent that existed prior to the 1995
TRIPS agreement helped India develop a huge generic drug industry which had its basis on
reverse engineering of brand name drugs through slightly modified processes.

13.3 Scenario-Post TRIPS (On Indian pharmaceuticals)


The most important amendment which had to be introduced by the amendment of 2005 in
order to make the existing patent regime in India TRIPS compliant was the introduction of
pharmaceutical product patents. The amendment of 2005 extends full TRIPS coverage to
food, drugs and medicines.
The other implications for the pharmaceutical sector under the new act are as follows:
 The term of a patent protection has been extended to twenty years compared to the seven
years which was provided by the act of 1970. This was made applicable to all the member
countries and hence rules out all the differences with respect to patent protection which
prevailed in different countries.
 If the law of the country provides so, then the use of the subject matter of the patent shall be
permitted without the authorization of the patent holder, including use by the government or
any other third party authorized by the government. However such use shall be permitted
only if prior to such use, the user has made efforts to obtain the authorization of the patent
holder and such efforts have not been successful within a reasonable period of time. This
requirement can be waived in case of a national emergency after notifying the patent holder.
 The burden of proof with respect to infringement matters have been reversed under the new
act. The onus of proving on a legal complaint that the process used by one enterprise is totally
different from that which has been used by another would lie on the defendant. Prior to the
amendment the responsibility was on the patent holder to establish patent infringement.

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13.4 TRIPS Implications on India:
Signing of Trade Related Intellectual Property Subjects (TRIPS) is considered to be a
landmark step towards development of intellectual property rights in the international law
sphere. It sets down minimum standards for many forms of Intellectual Property regulation.
Compliance with TRIPS mandates all the WTO member countries to amend their national
legislations and bring it in conformity with its provisions. It is the developing countries and
the least developed countries which are required to make the most extensive changes. All the
WTO members were given one year, i.e. up to January 1996 to ensure that their national laws
were TRIPS compliant. The developing countries were given another an additional four years
i.e. up to January 2000, and the least developed countries ten years i.e. up to 2006, to do so. A
further period of five years up to 2005, were given to the developing countries to introduce
product patents in fields of technology which had so far been excluded from their national
patent laws.
India is a member of various international Treaties on patents and intellectual property rights.
As per the TRIPS agreement under the WTO regime, India amended the 1970 Patents Act in
1999.India being a developing country was given a grace period of 5 years to change its
Patent Laws under agreement on TRIPS. At the same time a grace period of 10 years was also
granted for technologies previously unprotected in market. During this interim period of ten
years all patent applications were put in a black box. However pharmaceutical companies
could apply for an Exclusive Marketing Right (EMR) for their products for 5 years only even
before the patent regime is fully transformed (Product Patent).
Apart from the haziness mentioned above there were other concerns which developing
countries like India had pharmaceutical sector:
(i) Introduction of Product Patents implied higher costs of medicines which in turn can lead
to significant social costs;
(ii) Access to local firms of protected technology will become difficult because of the
bargaining position held by the patent holder through investment in R & D; and
(iii) There is a possibility that domestic firms are excluded from the most dynamic segments
of the pharmaceutical market where prospects of growth are higher. This is particularly true
for drugs based on biotechnology.

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[Table No.6]

S.NO. YEAR INSTRUMENTS ADOPTED ON TRIPS AND PUBLIC HEALTH

1 2001 DECLARATION ON TRIPS & PUBLIC HEALTH .


ADOPTED ON 14 NOVEMBER 2001 BY THE FOURTH WTO
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE, DOHA, QATAR.

2 2002 DECISION ON THE EXTENSION OF THE TRANSITION PERIOD


(27 JUNE 2002.) UNDER ARTICLE 66.1 OF THE TRIPS AGREEMENT FOR

LEAST-DEVELOPED COUNTRY MEMBERS FOR CERTAIN


OBLIGATIONS WITH RESPECT TO PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS.
3 2002 DECISION ON LEAST-DEVELOPED COUNTRY MEMBERS —
(8 JULY 2002.) OBLIGATIONS UNDER ARTICLE 70.9 OF THE TRIPS
AGREEMENT WITH RESPECT TO PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS,
4 2003 DECISION ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PARAGRAPH 6 OF THE
(30 AUGUST 2003.) DOHA DECLARATION ON THE TRIPS AGREEMENT AND

PUBLIC HEALTH,
5 2005 DECISION ON THE AMENDMENT OF THE TRIPS AGREEMENT,
6 DECEMBER 2005
6 2005 HONG KONG MINISTERIAL DECLARATION PARAGRAPH 40 ON

TRIPS AND PUBLIC HEALTH

7 2008 DECISION TO EXTEND DEADLINE FOR ACCEPTING TRIPS


AGREEMENT AMENDMENT

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14. Generic drugs :

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A generic drug (generic drugs, short: generics) is a drug which is produced and distributed
without patent protection. The generic drug may still have a patent on the formulation but not
on the active ingredient.
A generic must contain the same active ingredients as the original formulation. According to
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), generic drugs are identical or bioequivalent
to the brand name counterpart with respect to pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic
properties. By extension, therefore, generics are identical in dose, strength, route of
administration, safety, efficacy, and intended use. In most cases, generic products are
available once the patent protections afforded to the original developer have expired. When
generic products become available, the market competition often leads to substantially lower
prices for both the original brand name product and the generic forms. The time it takes a
generic drug to appear on the market varies. In the US, drug patents give twenty years of
protection, but they are applied for before clinical trials begin, so the effective life of a drug
patent tends to be between seven and twelve years

14.1 Reasons for less expensiveness of generic drugs.


Generic drugs are less expensive because generic manufacturers don't have the investment
costs of the developer of a new drug. New drugs are developed under patent protection. The
patent protects the investment--including research, development, marketing, and promotion--
by giving the company the sole right to sell the drug while it is in effect. As patents near
expiration, other manufacturers can apply to the FDA to sell generic versions. Because those
manufacturers don't have the same development costs, they can sell their product at
substantial discounts. Also, once generic drugs are approved, there is greater competition,
which keeps the price down. Today, almost half of all prescriptions are filled with generic
drugs.

14.2 To gain FDA approval, a generic drug must:


 Contain the same active ingredients as the innovator drug (inactive ingredients may
vary)
 .Be identical in strength, dosage form, and route of administration
 Have the same use indications
 Be bioequivalent

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 Meet the same batch requirements for identity, strength, purity, and quality
 Be manufactured under the same strict standards of FDA's good manufacturing
practice regulations required for innovator products

14.3 ANDA Patent Certification Process :

Upon submission of an abbreviated new drug application (ANDA or generic application) to


the agency, a sponsor must provide a patent certification as part of the generic application.
The types of patent certifications commonly submitted are referred to as paragraph I,
paragraph II, paragraph III, or paragraph IV patent certifications. These designations of the
patent certification types are relative to the part of the regulations in which they are
described. The generic applicant must make a patent certification to each patent listed on the
innovator reference listed drug product in the Orange Book. Other types of statements such as
statements of ‘‘no relevant patent’’ or a ‘‘section viii’’ statement that says the applicant is not
seeking approval for the method of use claimed on a certain patent may be made in lieu of a
patent certification. Timeliness of patent submissions to innovator applications (NDAs) was
mentioned earlier as being important with respect to the ANDA patent certification process.
An innovator (NDA) application is required to submit patent information with the initial
NDA submission. It is not uncommon for a patent to be issued from the Patent and
Trademark Office after the NDA has been approved by the Agency. When this happens, the
sponsor has a time period of 30 days from date of issue of a new patent in which to submit
the new patent information to the agency for the patent to be considered ‘‘timely filed.’’
Abbreviated applications (ANDAs) that have already been received by the agency will then
need to certify to the newly listed patent. Beyond the 30.
Any generic applications received after the patent was filed with the agency will need to
certify to the patent even though it is not considered timely filed. A paragraph I patent
certification declares that a patent has not been submitted to the US Food and Drug
Administration. A paragraph II patent certification states that the patent has expired.
Applications containing these types of patent certifications may have an immediately
effective approval date after meeting approval requirements.

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A paragraph III patent certification states that a patent will expire. A tentative approval for the
application may be granted. A tentative approval does not give the sponsor the right to market
the drug; the sponsor still must wait until full approval is given upon patent expiration.
A paragraph IV patent certification claims that the listed patent on the innovator new drug
application to which the generic is referencing has a patent that is either invalid, will not be
infringed or is not enforceable. This type of application may also be given a tentative
approval until patent issues are resolved. One of the requirements of a generic applicant who
submits a paragraph IV type of patent certification is that notice be given to both the patent
holder and the new drug application sponsor. After this notice is given, a 45-day clock begins
in which the patent owner is given an opportunity to file a suit for patent infringement. If
no suit is filed, the generic application may proceed to full approval. If a suit is filed for
patent infringement, the generic application may be fully approved only after a statutory 30-
month stay of approval that begins from date of first notification to the NDA or patent holder
or final court decision, whichever comes first. 14 Waxman-Hatch patent challenge exclusivity
is related
to the paragraph IV type of patent certifications. In order for a generic applicant to gain this
type of exclusivity, the applicant must be the first to file a substantially complete generic
application with a patent challenge (paragraph IV certification.) Upon first commercial
marketing of the application, as previously discussed, the sponsor is granted 180 days of
marketing exclusivity 15 in which no other generic application with a paragraph IV
certification may be approved.

15. Product Patent Regime & Pharmaceutical Industry In India

The new set of challenges stem from the deeper implications of the imminent product patent
regime. With the exception of a few, most Indian pharma companies are unfamiliar with the

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nuances of complex patent prosecution strategies. The research-based pharmaceutical
companies, on the other hand, have first hand knowledge of successfully designing and
implementing, sophisticated patent prosecution strategies. Therefore, the first hurdle for the
Indian Parma industry is unevenness in the domain knowledge on patents. One of the ways to
overcome this is to learn the use of patents as a business tool. The unrealistic defense against
the global norms on patents is perhaps the most critical post-TRIPS challenge faced by the
Indian pharmaceutical industry.
15a) The scope and extent of patentability of pharmaceutical products;
15b) Evergreening – the patent term extension strategies; and
15c) Implications of Compulsory Licensing provisions.

15a. Scope and Extent of Patentability - Pharmaceutical products


Article 27 of the TRIPS Agreement harmonizes the subject matter of patent in a broad
manner. However, the exclusions permitted under the TRIPS Agreement have created wide
variance in the Indian Patent Act, 1970 (‘the Act’). Complying verbatim with Article 27,
Section 2(1)(j) of the Act provides that ‘invention means a new product or process involving
inventive step and capable of industrial application’. Section 3 of the Act explicitly excludes
certain categories of inventions from the scope of patentability. Critical categories include-
plants, animals, parts of plants and/or animals, seeds, essentially biological processes,
mathematical or business methods, computer program per se, inventions based on traditional
knowledge, methods of treatment, diagnostic, therapeutic, and surgical methods. Section
2(1)(j) and Section 3 are inextricably linked with each other; any addition in the latter would
result in the constriction of the former.
While Section 3 per se poses a direct conflict with the general mandate of Article 27 of the
TRIPS Agreement, some of these restrictions can in fact stay on, provided they come under
the general exceptions under the TRIPS, as provided in Art. 27 (2) and (3). One needs to
closely watch the dialectics of Section 2(1) (j) and Section (3) of the Act in view of the
substantive provisions contained in Art. 27(1) and the exceptions to patentability provided
under Article 27(2) and (3) of the TRIPS Agreement.

 Patentability of Pharmaceutical & Related Inventions


A general reading of Section 2(1) (j) (which defines patentable inventions) with Section 3 of
the Act (that provides the list of subject matters excluded from patentability) do not clearly
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indicate if it is possible to interpret these provisions to exclude certain aspects of
pharmaceutical inventions from the scope of patentable subject matters. A section of the
Indian pharma industry even today argues that a distinction has to be drawn between primary
and secondary patents in the field of pharmaceutical inventions. According to them, primary
patents are the ones directed at new molecules and secondary patents cover new
combinations, optical isomers, active metabolites, polymorphs, ‘prodrugs’, new uses and so
on. The question here is whether it is permissible under the TRIPS to draw such a distinction.
The Government of India seems to be adopting a balanced approach in addressing this issue.
In the proposed Patent (Amendment) Bill, 2003, it is proposed to substitute the words "new
use of known substance" with the words "mere new use of a known substance" in Section
3(d) of the Act. The interpretative scope of this is yet to be seen. It could eventually lead to
the acceptability of ‘Swiss-type’ new use claims.
The patentability of diagnostic methods under Section 3 (i) of the Act poses another
important question with respect to the possible distinction between ‘in vitro’ and ‘in vivo’
methods of diagnostics. The Patents Amendment Bill, 2003 has not introduced any distinction
between ‘in vitro’ and ‘in vivo’ methods of diagnosis. While ‘in vitro’ methods of diagnosis
would involve tests on samples taken from the body and performed outside the body, (like
taking blood samples and testing for diagnosis of a disease like malaria), the ‘in vivo’
methods of diagnosis would include performing the methods on the human body (like CT
scanning of the body). Section 3(i) of the Act provides that any process for the diagnostic or
other treatment of human beings or any process for a similar treatment of animals is not
patentable. In view of this, ‘in vitro’ diagnostic methods may be considered as a patentable
subject matter.
The above being the position, the exact nature and scope of patentable inventions in the field
of pharmaceutical arts will become clear only when the amended law is put to use, and
possibly reviewed by the Courts of Law. Hopefully the textual law will acquire more clarity
in the days to come when the Judges opine what it means and contains.

15b. Patent Term Extension Strategies (referred to as ‘Evergreening of


Patents’)
"Evergreening" is a term2 that describes techniques employed by pharmaceutical companies
to take advantage of loopholes in the patent and regulatory systems in order to artificially

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extend the market monopoly of a product beyond its legitimate patent period. "Evergreening"
covers a variety of techniques used by brand-name drug companies to extend their market
monopoly beyond the basic 20-year patent period allowed for new drugs.

 Method of Evergreening:
Filing separate 20-year patents on multiple attributes of a single product. These patents can
cover aspects for everything from manufacturing process to tablet colour, or even a chemical
produced by the body when the drug is ingested and metabolized by the patient.
 During the 1980's in Europe a drug's properties eligible for patenting were relatively
limited, including only the following :
*Primary uses
*Processes and intermediates
*Bulk forms
*Simple formulations
*Composition of matter

During the 1990's, however, it grew to nearly four times that of the earlier decade to include
patenting on additional aspects including the following:

*Expansive number of uses


*Methods of treatment
*Mechanism of action
*Packaging
*Delivery profiles
*Dosing regimen
*Dosing range
*Dosing route
*Combinations
*Screening Methods
*Chemistry Methods
*Biological Target
*Field of use

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 Strategies for Evergreening:
  Pharmaceutical companies practice "lifecycle maximization" by seeking to obtain as many
patents as possible during the development and marketing cycle, and to extend them for new
uses of established products, or to add on to the time-lag between patent grant and public
health approval. Originators erect "picket fences" or families of dozens of patents around a
single product covering numerous aspects of the product such as:

*Basic composition, including new or alternative compounds


*Method of treatment, including new use of known compounds, different dosing, and
therapies in combination with other drugs
*Synthetic production
*Formulation and drug delivery
*Prodrugs releasing active ingredient
*Substances resulting from metabolism in body
*Different crystalline or hydrated structures
*Gene-markers showing response to drug therapy
*Even devices such as patches for administering the drug

  Indeed, innovator companies no longer wait until the end of a product's patent life to begin
the evergreening process. In order to maximize revenues from their products, they begin
preparing strategies to extend patents and to put out generic competition at the outset of
product life cycles.
 To evergreen their products, the innovator company will develop what are euphemistically
called "life-cycle management plans" composed not only of patent strategies, but an entire
range of practices aimed at limiting or delaying the entry of a generic product into the market.
 Some of the evergreening strategies employed involve:

*Repeatedly creating line extensions and so-called "next generation" drugs, incorporating
minor, normally therapeutically insignificant, variations to a product and patenting it as a new
medication
*Switching from prescription-only to over-the-counter status
*Creating exclusive partnerships with chosen generics manufacturers prior to patent expiry to
allow time to create brand-name loyalty for the generic version while earning royalties on the
RKDF COLLEGE OF PHARMACY Page 47
product (Reports of originator companies buying up generic companies to eliminate
competition from lower-priced products are not infrequent)
*Defensive pricing strategies, whereby an Innovator company cuts the price of its product to
levels that allow it to compete healthily with equivalent generic versions
*Establishing a subsidiary generics unit to compete in the generics market before independent
generics companies are allowed to do so.

 Evergreening & Pharma Research Costs :


When evergreening through patent strategies, the originator manufacturer simply keeps
adding patents to the product (whether legitimate or not), essentially forcing the generic
manufacturer to choose between waiting for all the patents to expire and applying for
marketing authorization anyway, running the risks of litigation and the associated costs and
delays.
In fact, the practice has grown to such proportions that even the originator industry, caught in
the trap they themselves created, have begun to complain about the costs involved in
litigating disputes over multiple pharmaceutical patents involving their own research.

15c. Compulsory Licensing:


In the thirty years of the working of India’s patents system, Compulsory Licensing provisions
were never invoked. However, today it is the most widely debated topic in India. The
Government of India and a number of other stakeholders consider Compulsory License as a
statutory tool to effectively protect ‘public interest’ from possible abuse of monopoly. One
step ahead, many consider that Compulsory License will ensure a level playing ground
between the owners of Intellectual Property Rights and their competitors.
The Patents (Second Amendment) Bill, 1999 (which later became the Patents (Amendment)
Act, 2002 brought in substantial amendments in the provisions concerning Compulsory
Licenses. The Patents Act, 1970 originally contained a Chapter titled ‘Working of Patents,
Compulsory Licenses, Licenses of Right and Revocation’. The legislative intent behind the
inclusion of Compulsory Licensing provisions was evident from Section 83 of the 1970 Act.
The Section contained the general principles applicable to the working of a patent aimed at

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curbing the potential abuse of monopoly by the patentee.
The local working of inventions to the fullest extend and on commercial scales and
preventing the patentee from creating import monopolies were the two fundamental
principles recognized in the original Act. The recent amendment added clauses (c) through to
(g) to the original set of principles.
The new principles are addressed at striking a balance of interests between the technology
owners and technology users, promoting socio-economic progress by technological
development, protection of public health and the Government of India’s rights in that regard
prevention of unfair trade practices by abuse of monopoly rights by the patentee and the
availability of the patented invention at affordable prices to the public.
The Act originally contained two important grounds for invocation of Compulsory Licenses.
Any interested person could approach the Controller of Patents seeking a Compulsory
License on grounds that.
(a) the reasonable requirements of the public with respect to the patented inventions have not
been satisfied.
(b) patented invention is not available to the public at reasonable prices.
The amended provision contained in Section 84 of the Act has included a third ground of
‘local working’ for seeking Compulsory Licenses. If the patented invention is not worked
within the territory of India, it can be a ground to seek Compulsory License by any interested
person. While explaining the meaning of ‘reasonable requirements of the public’, the law as it
originally stood did contain a provision that the reasonable requirements of the public is
deemed not to have been met, if for reason of the default of the patentee to manufacture in
India the patented article, or not to give a license for the manufacture of the patented article
the interests of the existing trade or industry is adversely affected.
In addition to the above, under Section 92 (1) the Central Government can issue notification
for the grant of compulsory licenses, at any time after the sealing of patent, in the case of
‘national emergency’ or ‘extreme urgency’ or ‘public non- commercial use’. .
The amended provisions have in general broadened up the grounds for seeking Compulsory
Licenses. Also the amendments have re-emphasized some of the basic principles behind the
inclusion of Compulsory Licenses. The amendments are, therefore, a combination of policy
statements and a set of substantive augmentation of the earlier provisions respecting
Compulsory Licenses.

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While some implications of the Compulsory Licensing provisions are direct and predictable,
some others are indirect, and far less apparent. The law says that Compulsory License can be
granted to any interested person if the patentee does not make the invention ‘available to the
public’ at ‘reasonable prices’. What would be the nature and extent of ‘making the invention
available to public’ for purposes of invoking Compulsory Licenses may lead to a contentious
issue. These indirect and less apparent issues are likely to surface once the TRIPS compliant
product patent regime comes into existence. Here again, the Courts of Law may play a
decisive role in explaining the pith and substance of the textual.

16. Examples illustrating the consequences of product patent system and


process patent system :

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Galaxo is one of multinationals. It manufactures, ‘genetic’ an antacid medicine. It
manufactures this medicine in India , in UK and in U.S.A. Galaxo selling the very same
medicine in India at such a cheap price & is it selling the same in USA at more than hundred
times the price in India. That is because in India we do not have product patent. The absence
of product patent has enabled any number of Indian pharmaceutical companies to
manufacture antacid tablet with the same properties by different processes, process which are
both cheap and , may be, better.

S.NO. COUNTRY PRICE (IN RS )


1 INDIA 7
2 PAKISTAN 120
3 ENGLAND 300
4 USA 800

[TABLE NO. 7]

17. Effect on pharmaceutical production in India :


 Current pharmaceutical market :
• Size of domestic market (value): US$ 4.8 billion.

• Per capita annual consumption : US$ 4.8 billion.

• Number of units in manufacturing : 23,000.

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• (1.2 % in formulation, the rest in bulk drugs)

• Number of brands : > 7,200 in 87 therapeutic segments.

• Market growth rate (value) : 14% approx.

• Import : 4% of total.

• Market share of multinationals

• (incorporated in India ) : 40%

• Market share of Indian companies : 60%

• Indian drug prices are among the lowest in world

Product patent is a dead sentence on indigenous pharmaceuticals. The blunder of singing the
Uruguay round ( as latter connected by some minister ) is an anti-people sell out. Any
product, to be patentable, needs the triple quantities of
a) Novelty (previously known to people )
b) Non obviousness ( containing sufficient innovativeness to merit protection )
c) Industrial applicability for usefulness.
By one broad stroke, all ayurvedic drugs, adivasi recipes, alternative native medicine,
naturopathy, magneto therapy & yoga therapy, from charaka and susruta and patanjali
downwards, familiar in various parts of india & therefore no novality at all, can be out of pale
of patent. Minimal changes which have nothing to do with the core of it, but impact glittering
appearance, attractive packing & glossy advertising magic, cannot be treated as establishing
novelty. Ultra-modern manipulation of ancient vintage Indian medicine cannot be fobbed off
as patentable mealy by using dazzling brand name baloney. Already American
pharmaceutical are taking patent for neem, tulsi & gooseberry.
Once patent protection is available, patent owning firms may choose either to export their
patented drugs to India, thereby replacing domestic production, or they may choose to
produce in India through a subsidiary or under license to India firms.
Concerns about global price difference, local, low cost production attractive as a way to
justify prices which are lower than those charged in developed country markets. Selling
prices are determined as a make-up on input costs. This means that there is a “transient
loophole”. An MNC may export the patented active ingredient to Indian subsidiary at a
artificially high transfer price & there by obtaining a controlled price for its formulation. This
would give patent owning MNCs an incentive to produce bulk drug inputs elsewhere & then

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inside India. While the availability of strong intellectual property protection is necessary,
other consideration, like tax advantage, are also interested in choosing a manufacturing
location for on-patent drugs. Further, unlike generic drugs, manufacturing costs are a small
component of prices patented drugs & therefore India’s advantage as low-cost manufacturer
would not be particularly useful in attracting investment in localize facilities. So while the
largest part of pharmaceutical production should be unaffected, only some part of local
production of on-patent replaced by imports.

18. Exclusive marketing rights (EMRs) :


Agreement obliges to grant EMRs on inventions covered by patent applications on
"pharmaceutical products" during the transitional period. There is no indication in the
Agreement in respect of the nature, scope and extent of such rights. The definition of these
issues has been left to national legislation and should be made in a manner that does not
nullify the transitional periods.

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For those countries that apply the transitional periods for the recognition of pharmaceutical
(or agrochemical) product patents, the interpretation of EMRs remains an ambiguous issue.
An important point is whether EMRs would be deemed to be of similar effects than a patent,
and the extent to which they may be subject to exceptions and compulsory licenses. Though
opinions on these issues widely diverge, it seems logic to think that EMRs may not be
equivalent or stronger than patents, since this would suppress, in practice, the existence of a
transitional period. EMRs may, therefore, be conceived as an exclusive right to obtain
remuneration from those that use the invention, until the patent is granted (or refused).
EMRs have been granted at least in one case. The Argentine Patent Office conferred such
rights in favor of a U.S company in September 1998. Several elements of that administrative
act illustrate the contradiction between the provision of a transitional period and the granting
of EMRs.
In the referred case, the patent application did not cover a new chemical entity, but just a
formulation form of a product (olanzapine) which was in the public domain in Argentina. In
addition, the claimed formulation had been disclosed in a previous foreign patent owned by
the same company and, therefore, did not meet the patentability requirements.
This evident abuse of article 70.9 of the TRIPs Agreement indicates that developing countries
under a transitional period should ensure that EMRs, if granted, should:
 Apply only to new chemical entities, since the rationale of said article clearly is to provide
protection to such entities, and not to a simple formulation of a known product;
 Require that a patent obtained in other WTO Member that serves as a basis for the EMRs, be
granted in a country with a real and serious examination procedure.

19. Special Problems of Pharmaceutical Patents


The pharmaceutical industry is one of three technology-based industries in which the patent
virtually equals the product. Most importantly, unlike industries which produce products
requiring expensive and complex manufacturing infrastructures, the patented products of
pharmaceutical companies can be easily and cheaply replicated by copiers with little capital
investment. Since capital investment in the pharmaceutical industry disproportionately is

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directed to laboratory research and clinical trials rather than the manufacture of the final
product, patent exclusivity is the only effective way to protect and receive a return on that
investment.
The pharmaceutical industry has an important
characteristic that sets it apart from other industries that rely on patent protection. In many
technology-based industries it is possible to keep inventions a secret until the moment they
are marketed. This enables inventors to delay patent filings until the last possible moment
and, therefore, to maximize the effect of the 20 year patent term which runs from filing of the
patent application. The culture of medical research, emphasizes very early disclosure of
inventions, usually long before a resulting product can be placed on the market. This is
because scientists working in the field of human pathology have an obligation to share their
findings as soon as possible with their peers so that those peers will be able to benefit from
the new knowledge in their own research. Much of the investment in new drugs is in the
clinical trials which are necessary to satisfy safety and efficacy regulators. The tolerance for a
“buyer bewares” philosophy in the pharmaceutical industry is extremely low compared to
other industries.
The lengthy time period between patent
filing and placing a product on the market means that pharmaceutical manufacturers receive
far shorter periods of patent exclusivity than is the case for other patent dependent industries.
This problem has been addressed in legislation in the United States and elsewhere which
permits a patent applicant to apply for extensions of patent term to compensate for the
inability to market inventions due to safety and efficacy regulation. However, the time
periods permitted for such extensions do not equal the time lost in ability to market. In the
United States patents can be extended only for half the time period consumed by the
regulatory approval process, and for a maximum effective patent term of fourteen years.
Further, the legislation restricts the exclusive right of use which normally accompanies the
patent grant by permitting generic competitors to use the product for testing and developing
the generic alternative while the patent is still in effect. This permits a generic product to be
marketed virtually the moment the patent expires.

While the contribution of the patent-based


pharmaceutical business to job creation and the economy is impressive, the inventions of
pharmaceutical researchers have a dimension difficult to quantify in economic terms – their

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impact in extending life and alleviating human suffering. In 2001 the pharmaceutical industry
pipeline contained 402 new cancer medicines, 123 new treatments for heart disease and
stroke, 83 new AIDS treatments and 176 new medicines for neurological diseases.
This is not to dismiss the fact that many patients in the world cannot pay for these drugs and
do not have access to them. However, this is not the result of the patent system. It is the result
of lack of a source of funding for the purchase of drugs for those currently too poor to buy
them themselves. While in the United States Medicaid provides a safety net for those without
health insurance or other means to pay for drugs, in many parts of the world there is no
similar source of public financing. However, the Bush Administration has recognized this,
and Congress currently is in the process of appropriating U.S. tax money for the 2004 fiscal
year to subsidize purchases of HIV medicines by public health authorities in poor country.

20. The Controversy Over Aids Medications and the Doha Declaration
The HIV/AIDS epidemic has caused many to question whether a stronger global patent
regime creates new obstacles to meeting public health emergencies.
TRIPS Agreement permits WTO member states to limit the exclusive rights of patent owners
where a national government needs to use the patent itself or where it is necessary to issue a
compulsory license to a third party, such as in a health emergency. While use by government
is permitted merely upon notice to the patent owner provided it is “considered on its
individual merits,” compulsory licenses may be granted only if “efforts to obtain a voluntary

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license on reasonable terms and conditions” are first made. And, the scope and duration of the
use must be limited and the compulsory license or government use must be non-exclusive.
Article 31 limits these exceptions, to “the supply of the domestic market of the member
authorizing the use.” It also requires that “the patent owner must be paid adequate
remuneration taking into account the economic value of the authorization.”

The provisions became the subject of a contentious debate at a meeting of trade ministers in
Doha in November 2001. The debate resulted in a ministerial “Declaration on the TRIPS
Agreement and Public Health” that acknowledged, “Intellectual property protection is
important for the development of new medicines” but expressed “concerns about its effect on
prices.” The ministers recognized “the gravity of the public health problems afflicting many
developing and least developed countries, especially those resulting from HIV/AIDS,
tuberculosis, malaria and other epidemics” and affirmed “that the [TRIPS] Agreement does
not and should not prevent Members from taking measures to protect public health.”(The
Ministerial declaration stated: “Each Member has the right to grant compulsory licenses and
the freedom to determine the grounds on which such licenses are granted. The right to
determine what constitutes a national emergency…it being understood that public health
crises, including those relating to HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other epidemics, can
represent a national emergency or other circumstances of extreme urgency.”
The TRIPS Council was requested to resolve this issue before the
end of 2002. It was not, in fact, resolved until August 30, 2003 when WTO’s General Council
agreed that compulsory licenses could be issued for imports from another country where
“needed to address the public health problems” referenced in November 2002 Declaration,
namely situations involving “HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other epidemics.” Further,
the decision required that the importing country establish “that it has insufficient or no
manufacturing capabilities…for the product(s) in question…” and that “only the amount
necessary to meet the needs of the eligible importing” country could “be manufactured under
the license…” With regard to the question of royalties to be paid to the patent holder, the
decision reaffirmed that the exporting country was responsible to see that “adequate
remuneration” is paid “taking into account the economic value to the importing Member.
These limitations contained in the decision itself were supplemented with a statement of the
Council Chairman noting that the system “established by the Decision should be used in good

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faith to protect public health and … not be an instrument to pursue industrial or commercial
policy objectives.”

Threats to use the compulsory licensing provisions of TRIPS to depress


pharmaceutical prices to a level below what national markets can afford violate the
fundamental trade-off of the Uruguay Round negotiations which gave rise to the TRIPS
Agreement – that rich countries would lower barriers to manufacturing imports from
developing countries in return for effective market access to their technology-based products,
including pharmaceuticals, in developing country markets.

 Production of OFF-patent drugs


Off-patient (generic) drugs made by Indian firms are going to meet most of the domestic
demand.
With increase concentration of Indian firms is generic drugs, its export prospect is very high.
Currently, the world market for generic drugs is $20bn, and expected to grow to $40bn by
2005. in order to take this opportunity, leading Indian firms (like Ranbaxy SOL, EAST India
pharmaceuticals) are building their capabilities to produce generic drugs.
However, Indian firms are going to face strong competition from other developing countries,
and even some developed countries. Therefore, the long-term success of Indian firms depends
on improved efficiency and exploration of new markets through South-north and South-South
co-operation, both at the producers’ and consumers’ level.

 Production of Patient Drugs under License


Global drug development and production are undergoing structural changes in recent times.
The reasons for such changes are: a) exponential increase in the cost of drug development, b)
shortening of product life, and c) stiff competition from generic drugs.
However, two discernible facts are worth mentioning:
 Global Pharma companies not having much stake in Indian market will not hesitate to give
licensed to Indian firms; and

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 Companies with large subsidiaries in Indian (like Glaxo, Pfizer) are likely to introduce
licensed drugs through their subsidiaries only.
Marketing of imported Drugs
The fourth option for Indian Parma firms is marketing of imported drugs. Many Indian firms
are interested in entering in to long-term arrangements with global business. For example,
Ranbaxy has entered into an alliance with Eli Lilly.

 Patent Kind Codes :


• USA

• A - US Patent

• A1 - Patent Application Publication

• A2 - Patent Application Publication (Republication)

• B1 - Patent (No previously published pre-grant publication)

• B2 - Patent (Having a previously published pre-grant publication)

• RE - Reissued Patent

• Europe

• A1 - Publication of application and search report.

• A2 - Publication of application without search report.

• A3 - Publication of search report.

• A4 - Supplementary search report.

• B1 - Patent

• B2 - Patent after modification

• PCT

• A1 - Publication of the international application with international


search report.

• A2 - Publication of the international application without


international search report.

• A3 - Subsequent publication of international search report.

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22. Conclusion:
Reasons making a patent system inventible for promoting innovation,
research and development-
 A patent system is considered necessary to stimulate investments in inventions which are
new, non obvious and useful. Patent protection stimulates research and development and is a
major factor in helping raise venture capital and in the economic development of the country.
They provide increased overall corporate value.

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 Secondly the patent system rewards the inventor for the time, money and effort expended by
him and for his competitive and creative drive and the cooperation extended by him in
teaching the rest of the society how to use his finding and inventions for all time here in after.
 Patent provide freedom of movement in the particular field to which it relates to, especially if it
pertains to a crowded field with many competitors or one which is dominated by one important
player.

 Patent Act as bargaining chips & enable the individual inventors to license out their patent
and exchange for technical know how for financial privileges.
 Patents Act as bargaining chips and enable the individual inventors to license out their patents
in exchange for technical know-how or for financial privileges.
 Patent system encourages the disclosure of information instead of it being kept confidential
as a trade secret. Hence it contributes to the prior art in the particular field and enhances
scientific knowledge by using the information contained in the published patent documents.
They help in identifying the uncovered areas and initiate R&D in such areas.
Hence the patent system helps in ascertaining global technological trends in specific areas of
interest. Lastly, the patent system helps in identifying the possible competitors and their
strength in particular areas of interest.

Developing countries are having a hard time in implementing the TRIPs Agreement in the
area of pharmaceuticals. The transitional periods are running out and such countries are under
the continuous pressure of some countries (notably the United States) to grant a protection
broader than required under the Agreement.
Developing countries that are introducing patent protection for medicines are facing a number
of legal and administrative problems, and need to take decisions on how to deal with several
important issues in the framework of the TRIPS Agreement.

The implementation of the TRIPS Agreement in the patent field has given rise to increased
speculative litigation, particularly with an aim to expand the term of pre-existing patents.
Strategic litigation to compete out local companies has also increased.
Patent applications relating to new chemical entities are a small fraction of the total
applications made in the pharmaceutical field. The great majority correspond to processes,
particular formulations of a known active ingredient and, where admitted, new and second

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uses of existing medicines. If granted, such applications may expand protection well beyond
that of a particular active ingredient, and may be used to block the commercialization of
products in the public domain.

Therefore, Indian companies can go either for collaboration or concentrate on producing and
marketing generic drugs. This futuristic conclusion is based on the realistic assumption
regarding poor research and market penetration strategies by the Indian companies.
The trickiest part is what position the Indian government should take. The issue is a political
–economic one, and has to be approached from both angles political –economic.

Broadly, the government of India has two opinions.


 Introduce an effective regulatory mechanism for checks and balances on the availability
access and price of essential drugs.
 Develop research facilities for the introduction of new drugs catering to needs of country.
Given its traditional medicinal plant base, India can take a leading position in developing,
producing and exporting tropical drugs. Compatibility between the above-mentioned two
options serves as a base for rational and need-based drag policy.

RKDF COLLEGE OF PHARMACY Page 62

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