India - Ord. No. 7 of 2004: An Ordinance Further to Amend the Patents Act, 1970

Patent Legislation Passed March, 2005

March 23, 2005 - The Rajya Sabha, India's upper house of Parliament, passes the patent bill, one day after the the Lok Sabha (lower house of Parliament) passed it. The original legislation was very similar to last December's highly restricitve Ordinance No.7, though many of the changes sought by civil were made.

The Patents (Amendment) Act, 2005.

Copies of related legal texts can be found on the website for the Indian Patent Office.

Government Documents

March 23, 2005. Government of India's Press Information Bureau. Important Changes Incorporated in the Patents (Amendment) Bill, 2005 as Compared to the Patents (Amendment) Bill, 2003.
April 4, 2005. Government of India's Press Information Bureau. Enough Safeguards in Patents Act to Prevent Price Rise - Domestic Pharma Industry Interests Fully Protected: Kamal Nath.
December 29, 2004. Statement by Shri Kamal Nath, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry.
December 7, 2004. Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Press release. Legislation on Patent Amendment by this Month End.

NGO Documents

Consumer Project on Technology
- Aril 6, 2005. James Love. Op-ed in the Financial Express. Options to traditional patents.
- March 22, 2005. Observations on the Indian Patent Bill.
Joint NGO Press Releases
- March 22, 2005. Affordable Medicines and Treatment Campaign (India), Medecins Sans Frontieres, Lawyers Collective HIV/AIDS Unit, and the Alternative Law Forum. The Beginning of the End of Affordable Generics.
- March 19, 2005. Joint Action Alert from the Affordable Medicines and Treatment Campaign (AMTC), ACT UP Paris, Alternative Law Forum, Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF). Patent Bill is introduced with NO change.
- March 6, 2005. Joint release from the Global AIDS Alliance, the Association for India's Development, and Health GAP. India Could Cut-off Africa's Access to Affordable AIDS Drugs; Indian Parliament May Begin Considering the Issue March 9.
Joint Action Committee Against Amendment of the Indian Patents Act
- December 29, 2004. Declaration of the Joint Action Committee Against Amendment of the Indian Patents Act.
- December 21, 2004. Report of the meeting held at the CITU Central Office, 13-A, Rouse Avenue (near ITO), New Delhi.
Affordable Medicines Treatment Campaign
- April 7, 2005. President of India gives his assent to the Patent Act, 2005 - Misguided Patent Law will affect access to Affordable Medicines.
- March 18, 2005. Concerns Regarding Patents Bill 2005 Introduced in the Loksabha
- January 13, 2005. New Indian Patents Law Threatens AIDS Treatment Access in India and Worldwide.
- December 20, 2004. Anand Grover. Letter to Sonia Gandi on the Amendments to the Patents Act.
- October 22, 2004. Letter to Justice A. S. Anand, Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission.
Medecins Sans Frontieres
- March 23, 2005. MSF Statement About New Indian Patent Bill.
- March 15, 2005. Sources of affordable generic medicines drying up? India should ensure global access to medicines.
- February 22, 2005. Letters to the President, Prime Minister and National Advisory Council of India. (MS Word format)
- February, 2005. Technical Briefing Document. Will the lifeline of affordable medicines for poor countries be cut? Consequences of medicines patenting in India.
- February, 2005. General Briefing Document. The effects of the 2005 TRIPS implementation deadline on access to medicines.
Oxfam
- March 15, 2005. Jeremy Hobbs, Executive Director of Oxfam International. Letter to the Prime Minister of India.
- March, 2005. Briefing paper. Why India's decision over its new patent law will be affect the health crisis in the developing world. (MS Word format)
March 23, 2005. Lawyers Collective HIV/AIDS Unit. Now the Real Fight Begins.
December, 2004. Sign on Letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the Upcoming Amendments to India's Patent Law.
December 6, 2004. ACT-UP Paris press release. Global Access to Medicines Is Threatened - The Indian government must postpone amending its patent law.
December 5, 2004. Allison Aldred, Regional Director of Oxfam GB in South Asia. Letter to the Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry on patent amdendments.
November 8, 2004. Health GAP. Letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the Upcoming Amendments to India's Patent Law.

UN Agency Documents

March 11, 2005. Steven Lewis and Nafis Sadik, U.N. Special Envoys for HIV/AIDS in Africa and the Asia/Pacific Region. Letter to the Prime Minister and President of India.
February 23, 2005. Achmat Dangor, UNAIDS' Director of Advocacy, Communication and Leadership. Letter to India's Minister of Commerce and Industry.
December 17, 2004. Jim Yong Kim, HIV/AIDS Director for the World Health Organization. Letter to India's Minister of Health and Family Welfare.

Statements from Indian Pharmaceutical Companies

Generic Producers
- December 27, 2004. DG Shaw, Secretary General of the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance. Strike a balance on product patents - There are perverse incentives in the current system.
- December 21, 2004. Op-ed by Prabuddha Ganguli, CEO of Vision-IPR. Published in the Economic Times. The changes, while complying with TRIPS, must protect our national interests in a balanced and equitable manner.
Branded-Producers
- March 23, 2005. Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. PhRMA Welcomes Passage of Patent Bill in India.
- March 22, 2005. International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations. Passage of Indian Patent Law: A Step Forward.
- December 29, 2004. S Ramkrishna, Senior Director of Corporate Affairs for Pfizer Limited. Myths and fallacies about high prices.
- December 21, 2004. Op-ed by Ajit Dangi, Director General of the Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India. Published in the Economic Times. What changes does the Indian Patent Act need?

Misc.

March 22, 2005. Dr. Amit Sen Gupta, National Working Group on Patent Laws. Notes on the substance of the major amendments made in the Indian Patents Bill.
December 16, 2004. Statement from the French Trade Minister on the upcoming Indian Patents Bill.
December 30, 2004. Dipak Basu, Nagasaki University. Patent Laws: Developing Countries Suffer the Most.
December 30, 2004. Equitymaster.com. Patent Law: What the Fine Print Says.
October 6, 2004. N. B. Zaveri. Critique on Patent Amendments Bill.

News Stories

April 15, 2005. Inside U.S. Trade. Industry Says Indian Drug Law violates WTO, But No WTO Case Seen.
April 16, 2005. Op-ed by Patralekha Chatterjee in the Lancet. India’s new patent laws may still hurt generic drug supplies.
April 5, 2005. Press Trust of India. New Indian Patents law comes into force with President's assent.
April 5, 2005. Business Standard. Drug prices: India, UNCTAD differ.
March 29, 2005. Latha Jishnu for Business World India. Patently Left and Right, Too.
March 25, 2005. The Financial Express. Local pharma firms unhappy with compulsory licensing provisions.
March 24, 2005. William New for Intellectual Property Watch. India’s TRIPS Compliance Effort Could Be Test Case.
March 23, 2005. Bridges Weekly Trade News Digest. Indian Parliament Approves Controversial Patent Bill.
March 23, 2005. Sify. Parliament approves Patents Bill.
March 23, 2005. Donald McNeil for the New York Times. India Tightens Law, Alarming Advocates for AIDS Patients.
March 23, 2005. P.T. Jyothi Datta for the Hindu Business Line. Patents Bill drives a wedge between health, pharma segments.
March 23, 2005. The Hindu. Lok Sabha passes Patents Bill amid walkout.
March 23, 2005. Rajesh Mahapatra for the Associated Press. Groups slam Indian passage of patent law.
March 23, 2005. Wall Street Journal editorial. India's Crackdown on Fakes.
March 23, 2005. Jo Johnson and Andrew Jack for the Financial Times. India drug patent law clears its first hurdle.
March 23, 2005. Randeep Ramesh for the Guardian. Cheap Aids drugs under threat.
March 23, 2005. The Times of India. Indian Pharma interests well protected: Nath.
March 23, 2005. Anand Giridharadas for the International Herald Tribune. India nears turning point on drug patent rules.
March 22, 2005. Reuters. Lok Sabha passes patent bill.
March 22, 2005. Associated Press. International aid groups say India's overhaul of patent law deals death blow to cancer, AIDS patients.
March 22, 2005. Financial Express. Lok Sabha nod for Patents Bill.
March 22, 2005. Rajesh Mahapatra for the Associated Press. Indian legislature adopts new patent law.
March 22, 2005. India Info Line. Lok Sabha approves Patent Bill.
March 22, 2005. Business Standard. Government plugs gaps in Patents Bill.
March 21, 2005. K.G. Narendranath for the Financial Express. Centre to curb evergreening of patents in amended Bill.
March 21, 2005. Business Standard. Patents seen raising drug prices - Govt wants more flexibilities in patent ordinance.
March 21, 2005. Ramola Talwar Badam for the Associated Press. Groups critical of India on patent laws.
March 21, 2005. Kerala Next News. Debate on Patent Bill deferred amid protest.
March 21, 2005. Agence France Presse. Global AIDS, cancer activists step up pressure against Indian patents bill.
March 19, 2005. The Hindu Business Line. New Patents Bill introduced amid protests.
March 18, 2005. Business Standard. Patents Bill headed for select panel - Left, BJP refuse to change stand.
March 18, 2005. Reuters. India Considers Bill to End Copying of Patented Drugs.
March 18, 2005. Edward Luce and Andrew Jack for the Financial Times. India's opposition rejects drug law.
March 18, 2005. The Hindu Business Line. Amended Patents Bill introduced in LS - Left, BJP seek more changes.
March 18, 2005. Sify. Patents Bill introduced in Lok Sabha.
March 17, 2005. Amiti Sen & Shebonti Ray Dadwal in the Financial Express. Loss of face for India if Patents Ordinance lapses.
March 16, 2005. Economic Times. Govt to introduce Patent Bill next week.
March 16, 2005. Press Trust of India. Govt may introduce Patent bill next week.
March 16, 2005 Ganapathy Subramaniam for the Economic Times. Govt urged to handle patent law with care.
March 15, 2005. The Times of India. Indian Patents Bill Faces Roadblock.
March 11, 2005. Nithya Subramanian for the Hindu Business Line. Foreign nations lobbying PMO for favourable patents law.
March 12, 2005. Op-ed in the Hindu by Frederick M. Abbott, Amy Kapczynski & T. N. Srinivasan. The draft patent law.
March 11, 2005. The Economic Times. UPA yields an inch, Left wants a mile.
March 5, 2005. New York Times editorial. AIDS Drugs Threatened.
February 15, 2005. Shaban Serunkuma for Consumer Perspective (Uganda). New Indian law is a threat to Ugandan healthcare consumers.
February 10, 2005. The Times of India. New Patent Law Pushes Up the Price of AIDS Drugs.
February 10, 2005. Financial Express. Centre ensures smooth sailing of patent regime.
February 2, 2005. India Express. 'Inadequate' decree comes under attack from patent activists.
January 31, 2005. Ben Hirschler for Reuters. Kamal Nath says parliament will back drug law.
January 28, 2005. The Financial Times. Kamal Nath: ‘New patents regime will not affect drug exports’.
January 25, 2005. The Economic Times. Indian Patents ordinance "not to create monopolies."
January 24, 2005. Indo-Asian News Service. India to revisit ambiguous clauses in patent law.
January 19, 2005. Bridges Weekly Trade News Digest. Indian TRIPS-Compliance Legislation Under Fire.
January 18, 2005. New York Times editorial. India's Choice
January 5, 2005. G. Srinivasan for the Hindu Business Line. Patent ordinance and reality check.
January 5, 2005. Rajinday Sachar for the Economic Times. Wrong Medicine: Patent Ordinance to Drive Up Drug Prices.
January 4, 2005. The Economic Times. Crucial safeguards missed out in patents ordinance.
January 3, 2005. P.T. Jyothi Datta for the Hindu Business Line. Day 1 of product patent regime — Pharmaceutical industry kept guessing.
January 3, 2005. Indo-Asian News Service. Prime Minister Optimistic About New Patent Regime on Drugs.
January 3, 2005. Gireesh Chandra Prasad for the Economic Times. Pricing of Patented Drugs May Not Be Easy for the Indian Government.
December 30, 2004. Reuters. New patent law to shake up drug industry.
December 28, 2004. The Financial Express. Patent ordinance eases processing, removes exclusive marketing rights.
December 27, 2004. Reuters. A Decree Updates India's Patent Laws.
December 27, 2004. Associated Press. India makes key changes to patent law: WTO-mandated reform affects drugs, tech products.
December 27, 2004. P.T. Jyothi Datta for the Hindu Buiness Line. Date kept, now for the devil in the detail.
December 24, 2004. Pallavi Majumdar for the Business Standard. Patents Ordinance to allow post-grant opposition.
December 22, 2004. Rahul Rajkumar, Amy Kapczinski and Achal Prabhala in Outlook India. A Bitter Pill For Aam Aadmi.
December 17, 2004. Joe De Capua for the Voice of America. India's Pharmaceutical Industry Denies Patent Law Changes Will Drive Up AIDS Drug Prices, Reduce Availability.
December 20, 2004. P.T. Jyothi Datta for the Hindu Business Line. Novartis' Glivec Story - A Sign of Things to Come?
December 8, 2004. The Hindu. Protest against new Patents Bill.
December 4, 2004. Owen Dyer for the British Medical Journal. New 20 year patents threaten to end AIDS drugs for developing countries.
Nobember 26, 2004. Ranjit Devraj for the Inter Press Service. Goodbye to Cheap Indian Drugs?
November 24, 2004. Bridges Weekly Trade Digest. India Patent Law Changes Face Resistance.
November 18, 2004. P. Vinod Kumar for the Financial Express. MNC drug companies gear up for patent battles in India.
November 12, 2004. Economic Times News Network. Govt caught between Left & WTO on Patents Bill.
October 25, 2004. InPharma.com. India gets set for WTO patent regime.
October 19, 2004. Financial Express. India to meet product patent deadline: Nath.

Return to: CPTech Home -> Main IP Page -> IP and Healthcare -> CPTech Page on India