The Deccan Herald | February 19, 2002
MUMBAI - The Patents (Second Amendment) Bill, 1999, which is likely to come up for discussion and passage in the budget session of Parliament, fails to secure the benefits of Doha Declaration and foregoes even those for which India fought so vehemently and successfully.
The end result will be hike in prices of patented drugs after the Bill is passed and unavailability of any effective instrument to Indian generic industry and the government.
According to Narendra Zaveri, advisor to Indian Drug Manufacturers' Association, what the WTO (World Trade Organisation) allowed in Doha, "the parliament is reversing it to the detriment of national interests."
Addressing a news conference under the aegis of Swadesh Jagran Manch and Enron Virodhi Andolan, Mr Zaveri said MNC patent holders and the countries supporting them were asserting before the Doha ministerial round that the provisions of Trips (Trade-related Intellectual Property Rights) provided absolute and inviolable protection to right holders overriding all considerations including human rights, public health and national emergencies.
In the Doha ministerial conference, the Indian delegation led by Commerce Minister Murasoli Maran successfully forced the conference to accept the interpretation of TRIPS as canvassed by India and other developing countries.
As a result, a special Declaration for Trips and Healthcare was issued. The Doha Declaration asserts primacy of public health over commercial interests, treats Trips as flexible and confirms that healthcare considerations prevail over Trips patent rights, Mr Zaveri said.
However, the amendment bill "totally ignores Doha Declaration, goes beyond the requirements of TRIPS, fails to secure the benefits of Doha Declaration and seriously compromises national and public interests," he alleged.
Unfortunately, the Joint Parliamentary Committee Report on the Bill, presented to Parliament on December 14, 2001, ie within a month of Doha Declaration, totally omits any reference to Doha and fails to avail benefits of the Declaration for which India fought.
For example, Mr Zaveri cited the provisions regarding compulsory licence for national emergency or extreme urgency. Trips makes special exceptions to facilitate expeditious grant of compulsory licences (if the patent holder refuses licence) during emergencies. The amendment bill, however, makes no exception for procedural requirements for national emergencies thus defeating the very purpose of emergency provision.
The amendment bill also deletes the automatic licences of manufacture for medicines, which are vital and most effective measures and deterrent against abuse of patents, Mr Zaveri said. The automatic licences ensure local production which has built-in competition and thus ensures price control. It also ensures availability of drugs at reasonable prices for all citizens.
Mr Zaveri said Trips specifically allows government to authorise third parties the use of patented invention for commercial or non-commercial uses.
The only condition at present is the patentee's refusal for such permission and there is no other ground. The amendment bill, however, prescribes elaborate conditions and requirements for government authorisation, depriving the generic industry, NGOs and citizens of their valuable rights available under Trips.
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