[Reader-list] Re: Sklyarov arraignment has serious implications

[Rishab Aiyer Ghosh]

arun, it's not clear but if i read you correctly then you're wrong about
india's patent law. to clarify: india has always had _process_ patents,
and only during the uruguay round of the GATT adopted TRIPS etc which would
extend patent coverage to _products_. this was despite the _opposition_ of
much of the drug industry in india (though of course favoured by the MNCs,
and later any indian drugs companies who had their own innovative products).

the difference is that with only _process_ patent protection, a drug like
viagra, say, is not protected as a product, but only one specific process to
manufacture it is protected. a widespread practice in the indian drug industry
has been to simply find a slightly different process to make the same 
_product_, thereby being outside the patent (in india). with _product_ patents
as well, it is the final formulation of viagra that is (also) protected, 
regardless of the process used to reach there.



> I would like, at national level, an examination of India's policy on 
> intellectual property. There was a time, when we, pretty much alone in the 
> world, were fighting against extending the concept of IP to processes, 
> where really what was being patented was information, not a product. It is 
> widely believed, that all this was at the instigation of the Indian drug 
> industry, that did make money from copying foreign drug designs.

one reason the AIDS drugs controversy has not arisen in india (despite the
fact that it was caused at least in part by an indian company's offer - i think
cipla - to sell clones of drugs patented by MNCs to the south african govt at
low cost providing the govt. took all the legal liability of patent violation)
is that AIDS is not (yet) as big a problem in india and the govt has no 
similar mass-drug-purchase activities. and that afaik south africa started
implementing its TRIPS committments well before it was required to do so.
(there is a 'grace period' till i believe 2005 of which india is taking
full advantage).

that said, certainly it would be a good idea to hugely increase the awareness
of IPR issues in india, especially the positive (to india) aspects, since 
various nutcases have pretty much taken over indian brainspace with the 
so-called imperialist nature of IPRs. (sloppy patent systems that allow
the healing properties of turmeric to be patented before overturning them 
haven't helped IPR's PR either.)

the economist had a special some weeks ago on how IPR can help developing
countries, and this holds true for india over almost anywhere, given that the
false stereotype of the land of'maharajas and snake charmers' has been replaced
abroad by the (equally false) stereotype of the land of programmers. it is
also a good idea to increase awareness of the issues as india follows
some western countries in reforming _copyright_ - as opposed to patent - law
to dramatically reduce other liberties that are very much needed in india
(e.g. DMCA etc in the US).

-rishab