The Patents Act of 1970 in India

A patent is one type of intellectual property that the original inventor possesses. The Indian Patents Act of 1970 defines the Indian Patent Laws. This legislation grants patent rights to inventors of new and innovative processes, products, or articles of manufacture that satisfy the conditions of novelty, inventive steps, and industrial application. The Indian Patent Act's primary goal is to promote invention, which will ultimately result in India's technical advancement. The Indian Patent Act of 1970 strikes a balance between advancing public interest protection and innovation. It has been modified over time to accommodate the changing needs of the world while keeping innovation and easy access to necessities front and centre.

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This Story also Contains

1. Meaning of the word ‘Patents’
2. The Evolution of the Indian Patent Act of 1970
3. The Indian Patents Act of 1970
4. What is Section 7 of the Patent Act?
5. What kinds of things are Patentable in the Patents Act of 1970?
6. Rights of Patent Holder
7. An Overview: The Indian Patent Act of 1970's Amendments
8. Bio-Piracy in India: A Practice of Patenting Traditional Knowledge for Profit
9. Conclusion

Meaning of the word ‘Patents’

• The term "patent" comes from the Latin word "Patere," which means "to lay open," or "make available for public inspection."

• An example of intellectual property that the government grants to innovators is a patent.

• For a limited time, it gives the inventor the legal ability to bar others from creating, using, or commercialising their innovation. The creator is required to provide the invention's specifics in return for this exclusive privilege.

• By granting them exclusive rights to their innovations, patent laws aim to incentivize innovators to make greater contributions to their fields.

• Nowadays, the right awarded to an inventor for the creation of any novel, practical, non-obvious machine, process, manufactured goods, or composition of matter is commonly referred to as a patent.

• In India, patents are managed by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). The Ministry of Commerce and Industry oversees DPIIT's operations.

• The Indian Patents and Designs Act, which was passed in 1911, marked the beginning of patent law in India.

• The country's current patent laws are still based on the Patents Act of 1970, which went into force in 1972.

The Evolution of the Indian Patent Act of 1970

• Act VI of 1856 was the initial step towards patenting in India.

• The primary aim of the aforementioned legislation was to incentivize innovators to disclose and make their ideas accessible to the general public, while also promoting the development of innovative and beneficial manufacturing techniques.

• The Act was annulled by Act IX of 1857 because it was passed without the approval of the British Crown.

• Act XV of 1859, newly created legislation, was adopted in 1859 to establish "exclusive privileges."

• This law specifically amends the previous law by granting exclusive rights to only valuable discoveries and extending the priority period from six to twelve months.

• The Act did not include importers in the inventor's definition. Thereafter, in 1872, 1883, and 1888, the Act was modified.

• The Indian Patent and Design Act of 1911 repealed all previous laws.

• The Indian Patent and Design Act of 1911 was superseded on April 20, 1972, by the Patents Act of 1970 and the Patent Rules of 1972.

• The report Justice Ann's suggestions served as the foundation for the majority of the Patent Act. Rajagopala Iyengar was the head of the Ayyangar Committee.

• The acceptance of process patents for inventions on medications, medications, foods, and chemicals was one of the recommendations.

• Once again, the Patents (Amendment) Act, of 2005 revised the Patents Act, of 1970 to allow for the extension of product patents in all technological fields, including food, medicine, chemicals, and microbes.

• After the change, a clause allowing for the granting of compulsory licences was added, while clauses about exclusive marketing rights (EMR) were removed.

The Indian Patents Act of 1970

According to the Indian Patent Act of 1970, an invention is eligible for an Indian patent if it meets the following criteria:

• The creation needs to be original.

• A new idea or non-obvious approach must be included in an invention.

• The invention needs to be suitable for industrial use.

• Inventions that are limited to patentable industrial methods or techniques.

• It should not be governed by the requirements of sections 3 and 4 of the Patents Act of 1970.

• Ideas about atomic energy cannot be patented: Patent protection is not available for inventions on atomic energy that fall within paragraph (1) of section 20 of the Energy Act of 1962.

• Any of the individuals listed therein may apply under sub-section (1), either alone or in conjunction with another individual.

• Each patent application must be for a single invention, be filed with the patent office in the appropriate form, and be submitted.

What is Section 7 of the Patent Act?

Section 7 of the Patents Act of 1970 addresses the form of patent applications. It says that:

• Every patent application must cover a single invention.
• The application must be in the required form and lodged with the patent office.
• The application must establish that the applicant is in possession of the innovation.
• The application must identify the individual who claims to be the original and authentic inventor.
• If the applicant is not the person claiming to be the inventor, the application must contain a statement indicating that the applicant thinks the specified person is the genuine inventor.
• Applications that are neither convention applications nor submitted under the Patent Cooperation Treaty with India must be accompanied by a provisional or full specification.
• Section 7 further provides that from the date of application publication until the patent is awarded, the applicant enjoys the same rights and privileges as if the patent was granted on the publishing date.

What kinds of things are Patentable in the Patents Act of 1970?

The Indian Patents Act of 1970 made plain the limitations on what can be patented in India in Sections 3 and 4. To receive a patent in India, some requirements must be met. They are as follows:

Rights of Patent Holder

The ability to use a patent

• If a patent is for a person, the patentee has the only right to use, exercise, sell, and distribute the patented item or substance in India.

• They also have the right to use and exercise the technique or process.

• The patent holder may use this privilege directly, through an agent, or licensees. The patentee's rights can only be used for the duration of the patent.

Authority to issue a licence

• The patent owner may, at their option, agree to accept payment in exchange for rights transfers, licences, or other agreements.

• For a licence or assignment to be considered lawful and valid, it must be in writing and registered with the Controller of Patents.

• When a patent is not registered, the document assigning the patent is not accepted as proof of any person's ownership of the invention; this applies to the assignee, not the assignor.

The ability to give up:

• A patent holder is entitled to surrender their patent; however, before accepting the offer, those whose names are included in the registry as patent holders are notified of the surrender and their objections, if any, are taken into consideration.

• Additionally, the surrender application is published in the Official Gazette so that anybody with an interest can object.

Suitability for infringement:

• The patentee has the right to file a patent infringement lawsuit before a District Court that has jurisdiction over the case.

An Overview: The Indian Patent Act of 1970's Amendments

• The Indian Patents Act of 1970 was enacted in 1972 and lasted unaltered for over 24 years, until 1994.

• Then, in 1999, 2002, and 2005, the Patent Act was modified. The most current changes to this statute were suggested in 2018.

• Chapter IV was added in 1999 with the first revision to the IPA in 1970. Rights to exclusive marketing are covered in this chapter.

• The controller was required by the modified Section 24 to refer to each application. To prevent delays, the controller is required under Section 3 to confirm within 90 days whether or not the invention is patentable. In India, only method patents are recognised under this Act.

• India signed the Trade Related Intellectual Property Systems (TRIPS) agreement and became a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 1994.

• After ten years, India fully complied with the TRIPS accords in 2004, and the IPA 1970 was changed in 2005. Product patents are introduced in the IPA 2005.

• The 2005 Act prohibits patent evergreening and permits pharmaceutical patents. India may profit from and seize possibilities through incremental pharmaceutical innovation, as stated in Section 3 of the IPA.

• For a variety of public interest reasons, if the patent owner refuses to make the innovation available, a compulsory licence is granted. The global market is impacted by the IPA 2005.

• The Act makes an effort to strike a balance and appease the many parties involved, including the domestic research and development community, international pharmaceutical firms, civil society organisations, and businesses that produce medical products.

Bio-Piracy in India: A Practice of Patenting Traditional Knowledge for Profit

The term "bio-piracy" describes the unapproved and commercially beneficial exploitation of biological material and related traditional knowledge, sometimes without acknowledging or compensating the communities who created and preserved the information. Recent years have seen a major increase in bio-piracy in India, especially in light of the nation's vast biodiversity and traditional knowledge systems. India has a serious problem with people and organisations abusing traditional knowledge for financial gain.

As a result, traditional knowledge about plant species, medical applications, and other natural resources has been misappropriated and used for profit without the consent or acknowledgement of the knowledge holders.

Case Judgements on Bio-Piracy

• Turmeric Case (Curcuma longa Linn) - Rhizomes of turmeric are used as a spice in Indian cuisine. It also possesses properties that make it beneficial in medicines, cosmetics, and dyes. It has long been used as a burn and wound treatment. In 1995, a US patent was granted to two Indian expatriates who were employed at the University of Mississippi Medical Centre, regarding the application of turmeric for wound healing.
• However, after a reexamination, the Indian government disputed the patent, pointing out that previous art existed. Burns and rashes have traditionally been treated with turmeric. Thus, the government asserts that its use in medicine is well-known. They provided documented documentation of traditional knowledge to support their claim, such as an old Sanskrit manuscript and a 1953 study published in the Journal of the Indian Medical Association (IMA).

Neem Case (Azadirachta indica A. Juss)

• The Neem case is the name given to the legal battle that erupted between India and the United States in the 1990s over the patenting of the Neem tree and its therapeutic benefits by a number of US-based companies. In 1994, the US corporation W.R. Grace Company received a patent (EPO patent No. 436257) from the European Patent Office (EPO) for a hydrophobic extracted Neem oil technique of fungus control on plants. Despite the fact that neem has been used for generations as a natural insecticide in India and that traditional Indian medicine was well aware of its benefits, the patent was nonetheless awarded.
• Subsequently, the Indian government filed a challenge against the patent at the European Patent Office (EPO), claiming that the patent was awarded against India's traditional knowledge and that the fungicidal qualities of neem were previously widely recognised in the country.

Basmati Rice Case (Oryza sativa Linn.)

• The legal battle between India and the United States over who owns and recognises Basmati rice as a Geographical Indication (GI) is known as the "Basmati rice case."The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) received an application for a patent on Basmati rice and its farming technique from the Texas-based RiceTec corporation in 1997. India protested this action, claiming that Basmati rice was an Indian product and that RiceTec's claim was biopiracy since it attempted to take advantage of traditional expertise. India petitioned the USPTO to stop RiceTec from being granted a patent for basmati rice. The Indian government said that as Basmati rice has been grown there for generations, it has developed a unique reputation for flavour, fragrance, and culinary excellence.
• Following the USPTO's examination of the case in 2001, the Indian government was able to successfully revoke the patent awarded to RiceTec. The USPTO acknowledged that Basmati rice was an Indian-origin product and that it was deceptive for RiceTec to use the label "Basmati" on its goods. The ruling by the USPTO was hailed as a triumph for geographical indication protection and India's traditional knowledge.

Conclusion

India has long understood that a reliable patent system is essential to the growth of its business and trade, as demonstrated by the 2005 revision to the Indian Patent Act of 1970, which allowed India to stay up to date with global standards. Furthermore, the Patents Act of 1970's Section 159 gives the Central Government the authority to create regulations governing the Act's administration and implementation.