Active Stocks
Thu Mar 28 2024 15:59:33
  1. Tata Steel share price
  2. 155.90 2.00%
  1. ICICI Bank share price
  2. 1,095.75 1.08%
  1. HDFC Bank share price
  2. 1,448.20 0.52%
  1. ITC share price
  2. 428.55 0.13%
  1. Power Grid Corporation Of India share price
  2. 277.05 2.21%
Business News/ Home Page / 3 provisions helped India cull frivolous patents: study
BackBack

3 provisions helped India cull frivolous patents: study

3 provisions helped India cull frivolous patents: study

Premium


Mumbai: Three patent provisions that have come under flak from foreign companies and governments for not being compliant with global intellecutual property regimes have actually helped India weed out frivolous patents since 2005, when the country moved to a new patent regime.

This is the finding of a study conducted by the intellectual property rights (IPR) law department of National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS) at Kolkata.

The study shows that these three provisions were the basis of rejecting seven out of 10 patents rejected in the area of drugs, and 15 out of 20 rejected in other areas.

Also See Under the Scanner (Graphics)

However, the study also shows that very few patent applications are being challenged at all under these provisions, an indication of the reluctance of Indian companies to take on Big Pharma, which is behind most of the applications.

While a lobby group for domestic drug companies said the findings highlight the large number of frivolous claims being made by Big Pharma, a lobby group for foreign drug firms said the numbers weren’t significant enough to make inferences.

The three provisions relate to pre-grant opposition, post- grant opposition, and section 3(d) that prevents the issue of a patent for any known substance or concept unless the basis of the new patent claim makes the product’s efficacy substantially higher.

All three have been criticized by foreign companies and governments since 2005 for allegedly being non-compliant with the Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights dispensation of the World Trade Organization.

The study, however, shows that the three have been critical in filtering out frivolous patent claims.

In all, 58 patent applications were opposed between 2005 and 2008: 34 under the pre- and post-grant opposition provisions; and 24 under other options.

Of these, 41 were rejected: 27 under section 3(d).

However, these numbers pale in comparison with the total number of pharmaceutical applications filed. According to the study, 9,719 pharmaceutical applications were filed between 2005 and 2008; of these 2,734 patents, or less than one in three, were granted. The rest are being processed.

Interestingly, most of the 25 patent applications rejected under the pre- and post-grant opposition category were made by foreign drug makers, including Novartis AG, Pfizer Inc., Gilead Sciences Inc. and AstraZeneca SA, according to Mint’s own analysis of the rejections.

The analysis also showed that most of the oppositions were filed by Indian drug makers such as Cipla Ltd, Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd and Torrent Pharma Ltd.

Other challenges came from non-profit patient groups such as Mumbai-based Cancer Patients’ Aid Association, Sankalp and Positive People Living with HIV/AIDS.

Shamnad Basheer, who led the study, along with Shouvik Guha, a research associate at NUJS finds the statistics on patent opposition inadequate. “It is pitiable that despite such a large number of pharmaceutical applications filed, only around 34 were challenged, an abysmal 0.3%," he said.

A representative of a lobby group for local firms said the numbers highlighted both the need for increased awareness among local companies and activist groups, as well the large number of possibly frivolous patents that were being filed.

“One can see only a few Indian companies coming forward to oppose such frivolous patents. The local industry and the NGOs (non-governmental organizations) should be made more aware of these provisions to use these tools very effectively," said D.G. Shah, secretary general of the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance.

“At the same time, it is very important to look at the rate of rejections, which is very high corresponding to the number of oppositions, and it shows there are alarming number of frivolous patents being claimed in the country," he added.

Shah’s opposite number had a diametrically opposite point of view.

“It is too early to draw statistical trends from an implementation of a law where all the participants are on a steep learning curve," RanjitShahani, president of Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India, an industry association that represents foreign drug makers in the domestic market, wrote in an email.

Mint couldn’t immediately ascertain why few patent claims are opposed. Shah said it could be because of poor understanding of these provisions by local companies and patient groups.

P.H. Kurian, India’s controller general of patents designs and trademarks, agrees.

“There is a need for increased awareness on these provisions, which are strong tools to block frivolous patents, though the small number of opposition cases also indicate that the department’s high level of scrutiny on frivolous claims lead to rejection of many such applications at the examination stage itself, even without a formal opposition," he said.

Basheer, however, has a few other possible explanations. One, which he admits may be improbable, is that many of the patent claims are “strong".

Another is that the patent office’s website, the source of data for the study, may not have uploaded data on other patents that were opposed.

“Going by the various errors that we spotted on the Indian patent office, this is more probable, though we find it unlikely that the numbers omitted by the patent office could be so significant as to increase the numbers substantially," Basheer said.

Some of the patent claims that fell to pre-grant oppositions.

Gilead Sciences Inc.: HIV drug Tenofovir, Sep 2009

Novartis AG: Combination of valsartan and amilodipine, Mar 2009

Novartis AG: Alfa crystal form of its blood cancer drug imatinib mesylate, Mar 2009

Greaves Cotton Ltd: Improved diesel oil engine, Mar 2009

Pfizer Inc.: Cardiac drug atorvastatin and amilodipine combination, Feb 2009

AstraZeneca SA: Patent application for lung cancer drug Iressa, Nov 2007

Eli Lilly: Application for osteoporosis drug Forteo, Sep 2007

Novartis AG: Lung cancer drug Glivec, Jan 2006

Graphics by Sandeep Bhatnagar / Mint

Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!

Catch all the Business News, Market News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
More Less
Published: 08 Sep 2009, 05:40 AM IST
Next Story footLogo
Recommended For You
Switch to the Mint app for fast and personalized news - Get App