Draft patent amendment rules undermine pre-grant opposition
www.thehindu.com
Draft patent rules threaten pre-grant opposition, a key public health safeguard. Big pharma seeks to remove essential safeguards from India’s patent laws, creating needless hurdles in pre-grant opposition. Draft rules introduce variable fees, power to determine maintainability of representation by individuals/groups. This threatens access to quality-assured, affordable generics & extends patent protection on frivolous grounds.

India manufactures a significant share of the world’s pharmaceuticals, thanks in part to strict laws against frivolous patents and evergreening. However, a proposed change could make it harder for third parties to object to the granting of patents. This could hurt the Indian pharmaceutical industry as companies shift elsewhere, and drive up prices across the global south in the short term.