Indian patent law: a new direction

20-06-2014

Archana Shanker

Indian patent law: a new direction

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Recent decisions suggest that the Indian system seems to be changing direction towards developing sound patent law jurisprudence, says Archana Shanker.

The winds of change are blowing slowly over the Indian patent landscape. After the decision of the Supreme Court in the Glivec case and the series of revocations of patents by the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB), the Indian system seems to be changing direction towards developing sound patent law jurisprudence. It’s therefore worthwhile to examine how the various judicial forums have dealt with various aspects of Indian patent law in the last few months.

Compulsory licensing

In 2012, the Controller General in the Natco v Bayer case granted a compulsory licence to Natco for the patent covering Nexavar (sorafenib). In the appeal, the IPAB upheld the order of the Controller General with a slight, yet significant, revision to the order. The IPAB reversed the finding of the Controller on working and held that in some cases importation can amount to working.


Indian patent law, IPAB, biosimilars,

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