In India, one cannot patent any process for prophylactic [therapeutic / diagnostic] treatment of human being. This law not only promotes healthy competition among the players in the healthcare industry, it pushes down the cost of healthcare, in the process making it affordable for the masses.
While this law is intended to protect the interests of the masses in general, one needs to look at it from the perspective of the organizations involved in the development of such processes.
There exists lot of government funded institutions where considerable amount of effort, money and time is being spent in the research and development of such processes but the patents for the same have to be filed abroad as these processes are not patentable in India. This implies that anybody in India can pick up that idea and practice it as he / she has the “Freedom-to-Operate” in India. Operating on similar lines, even an Indian subsidiary of a multinational can also create an entry barrier to the local players through its strong market standing and technical strength. So, in order to reap the benefits of a foreign patent, one should enforce it.
It is true that litigation is not only a risky but an expensive and long drawn affair. Hence, only when the stakes are high and the organizations have a strong defense and finance to sustain such activities, do they challenge patent infringements. Seen from that perspective, the government funded research institutions are better placed compared to individual inventors and if they do not assert their rights over their intellectual property, then filing of foreign patents becomes a futile exercise.
Since the government funded research institutions have lot of foreign patents, the government should setup a dedicated body to act as a watchdog for the enforcement of such patents. This will allow the government to capitalize on the foreign patents by forcing the infringers to negotiate for license / sale of the patents. After all, it is an investment of the tax payer’s money made by the government and the government should ensure that they get proper return on investment.
While this law is intended to protect the interests of the masses in general, one needs to look at it from the perspective of the organizations involved in the development of such processes.
There exists lot of government funded institutions where considerable amount of effort, money and time is being spent in the research and development of such processes but the patents for the same have to be filed abroad as these processes are not patentable in India. This implies that anybody in India can pick up that idea and practice it as he / she has the “Freedom-to-Operate” in India. Operating on similar lines, even an Indian subsidiary of a multinational can also create an entry barrier to the local players through its strong market standing and technical strength. So, in order to reap the benefits of a foreign patent, one should enforce it.
It is true that litigation is not only a risky but an expensive and long drawn affair. Hence, only when the stakes are high and the organizations have a strong defense and finance to sustain such activities, do they challenge patent infringements. Seen from that perspective, the government funded research institutions are better placed compared to individual inventors and if they do not assert their rights over their intellectual property, then filing of foreign patents becomes a futile exercise.
Since the government funded research institutions have lot of foreign patents, the government should setup a dedicated body to act as a watchdog for the enforcement of such patents. This will allow the government to capitalize on the foreign patents by forcing the infringers to negotiate for license / sale of the patents. After all, it is an investment of the tax payer’s money made by the government and the government should ensure that they get proper return on investment.
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