Silences in the TRIPS Agreement

THE STANDARD OF patentability in the TRIPS Agreement is a matter that eludes consensus. When the vital constitutents of patentability ie 'novelty', 'inventive step' and 'industrial application' were left undefined in the TRIPS, it was almost certain that member countries of the WTO would take liberties in defining them. One instance of the exercise of such liberty is our own definition of 'inventive step' in section 2(1)(ja) which adds 'technical advancement' and 'economic significance' over and above the classic requirement of 'obviousness to a person skilled in the art'. Neither do the open list of exceptions to patentability in the TRIPS Agreement help in defining the standard. When the standard of patentability advocated by the TRIPS is unclear, the question of domestic laws confirming to that standard has to be viewed more critically. My article on this issue appeard in today's DNA Money and the same can be read here.

Selection Patents and its Discontents

SELECTION PATENTS PRESENT a problematic area for patent law. Now that section 3(d) of the Patents Act 1970 remains in the statute book, it would be interesting to see how the said provision has an impact on selection patents. My article exploring this topic appeared in today's The Hindu Business Line which can be read here.

Do Indian Patent Laws Stifle Research?

DO INDIAN PATENT laws stifle research is a question that has been repeatedly posed ever since the Madras High Court rendered its decision on the constitutional validity of section 3(d) of the Patents Act 1970. I have contributed a piece to this debate which appeared in today's The Hindu which can be read here.

Novartis Decision and the Flexibilities in TRIPS

THE RECENT DECISION of the Madras High Court rejecting the challenge to section 3(d) of the Patents Act 1970 can be viewed as a positive step in upholding the flexibilitis available under the TRIPS Agreement. The link to my article that appeared in today's DNA Money on this issue can be found here.

Book on the Law of Patents

My book “The Law of Patents – With a Special Focus on Pharmaceuticals in India” published by LexisNexis is finally out. The book is the first one of its kind to concentrate on the critical and hitherto unexplored area of pharmaceutical patents, especially in the Indian context. The book covers the general law of patents and has a special focus on pharmaceuticals. As a counsel who was involved in the Novartis-Gleevec cases (EMR, challenge to constitutional validity of section 3(d), rejection of patent application), I have tried to give a closer view on various aspects of the case. The book covers opposition proceedings in great detail (over 60 pages of commentary). There is also a separate chapter on exclusive marketing rights.

I have started a blog for the book with the hope that readers will give contribute to the development of this book. I hope to provide timely updates to the book, citing relevant paragraph numbers, on this blog. You may subscribe to the updates by entering your email id here.

Anyone who will be interested in reviewing my book may write to me here.

Read the book’s introduction here.

Read the detailed table of contents here.

Read about the book and author here.

Download order form here.

Bibliographic details: ISBN 978 81 8083 150 8. Price Rs 1595. Hardback, xliv + 1161 pages. Rupture factor: not critical.