Comment: The TRIPS Agreement

The first legislation in India relating to patents was the Act VI of 1856. The Indian Patents and Design Act, 1911 (Act II of 1911) replaced all the previous Acts. The Act brought patent administration under the management of Controller of Patents for the first time. After Independence, it was felt that the Indian Patents & Designs Act, 1911 was not fulfilling its objective. Various comities were constituted to recommend, framing a patent law which can fulfill the requirement of Indian Industry and people. The Indian Patent Act of 1970 was enacted to achieve the above objectives. The major provisions of the act, provided for process, not the product patents in food, medicines, chemicals with a term of 14 years and 5-7 for chemicals and drugs. The Act enabled Indian citizens to access cheapest medicines in the world and paved a way for exponential growth of Indian Pharmaceutical Industry. TRIPS agreement, which is one of the important results of the Uruguay Round, mandated strong patent protection, especially for pharmaceutical products, thereby allowing the patenting of NCEs, compounds and processes. India is thereby required to meet the minimum standards under the TRIPS Agreement in relation to patents and the pharmaceutical industry. India’s patent legislation must now include provisions for availability of patents for both pharmaceutical products and processes inventions. The present paper examines the impact of change in Indian Patent law on Pharmaceutical Industry.

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Trips and Later Inter-Se Agreements

10.1093/oso/9780199663392.003.0005 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Henning Grosse Ruse-Khan

Keyword(s):

Conflict Resolution ◽

Intellectual Property ◽

Property Rights ◽

Free Trade ◽

Free Trade Agreements ◽

Trade Agreements ◽

Trips Agreement ◽

Ip Protection

This chapter focusses on how ‘Free Trade Agreements’ (FTAs) fit within the existing multilateral framework, primarily with the Trade Related Aspects of International Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement which most FTAs take as basis and benchmark from which the contracting parties modify rules among another (inter-se). In this context, the most prominent issue is the effect the continuous strengthening of the standards of intellectual property (IP) protection and enforcement has on the optional provisions and flexibilities of the TRIPS Agreement. The chapter examines whether and how the TRIPS addresses such further increases in protection and enforcement. It also looks at conflict clauses in FTAs and how they perceive their relation with the multilateral IP rules, especially the TRIPS Agreement. The principal question here is whether rule-relations within the international IP system are still primarily determined by harmonious interpretation — or if conflict resolution rather functions by choosing one rule over another.

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