Title: Patent reform and compulsory licensing: a case study from India

Authors: Sagarika Chakraborty, Angira Singhvi

Addresses: Ekta Heights, Block 1, Flat #12 E, 56 Raja S.C. Mallick Road, Jadavpur, Kolkata – 700032, West Bengal, India. ' Ekta Heights, Block 1, Flat #12 E, 56 Raja S.C. Mallick Road, Jadavpur, Kolkata – 700032, West Bengal, India

Abstract: The recent amendment to the Patent Act 1970 brings India into full compliance with its obligations under the TRIPs Agreement, in particular allowing for product patents in the area of pharmaceuticals and agrichemicals. This amendment, the third to the 1970 Act, was characterised by a relatively muted rhetoric and a remarkable level of shared consensus amongst campaigners and critics. Focusing largely on domestic compulsions, as opposed to the global issues, this paper explores whether the shared consensus sets too narrow an agenda for patent reform.

Keywords: patents; compulsory licensing; medicines; prices; trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights; IPR; TRIPs; developing countries; India; pharmaceuticals; agrichemicals; patent reform.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIPM.2009.023260

International Journal of Intellectual Property Management, 2009 Vol.3 No.2, pp.127 - 140

Published online: 15 Feb 2009 *

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