PATENT LAW IN INDIA

Intellectual Property Rights offer a period of exclusive rights to exploit the property in question.

In the case of Bishwanath Prasad Radhey Shyam vs. Hindustan Metal Industries discussing about the Indian Patent Law, the court held that the primary objective of the legislature for enacting patent law was to promote the progress of scientific research and technology for public good.

Patent law became popular during industrial revolution when many new machines and equipment started being invented at a massive level. This gave birth to the need for protecting these inventions. An invention can become more profitable and can be economically exploited after its getting patented. Patent law does not only ensure that the invention remains secure with the inventor but it also encourages people to invent new technologies by giving monopolistic rights over a period of time so that the inventor can earn profit.

Patents should be granted only for inventions that are really novel, that are really non-obvious or really have a substantial inventive step, that are really useful or really technological and which are really enabled.

Indian patent law has come a long way. It has gone through major changes and is still growing. It all started with industrial revolution and since then this area of law is only expanding. India got its first ever patent law during British rule and it was mainly based on the patent law of United Kingdom. Today being a member of WTO and TRIPs agreement, India has to comply with the provisions which are being prescribed at international level and due to this reason only, a number of amendments came and modifications were done.

Just after Independence it was seen that the Indian government was not very enthusiastic and vigilant regarding the development of intellectual property law including the law related to patenting but eventually the scene changed. The reports given by the two committees namely: the Ayyangar Committee and the Tek Chand Committee also played a significant role in bringing patent reforms in India. It was because of these committees’ reports that the authorities understood that the loopholes in the patent laws are one of the reasons for the lack of inventions in India, as the patent laws should not only protect the existing inventions but should encourage citizens for doing more inventions by granting special rights and privileges for working as incentives. In fact, not only International Patent System but Indian law for patents have also evolved since last two centuries and have gone through major changes. India has grown a lot in the department of Science and Technology and this pressurizes it to have an efficient and powerful patent law to ensure that the rights of the inventors remain intact and none of the inventions get exploited. Like other nations, India too is trying to bring provisions sufficient enough to encourage more research and study in the department of Science and Technology in our country.

Though at times, India had to alter its law unwillingly just to comply with the provisions given under international treaties and conventions like TRIPS but it is benefitting the country also by encouraging growth in the research department. Right from the 19^th century Indian Patent Law has gone through a number of changes and what we have today as our current statute i.e. Patents Amendment Act, 2005 is a completely different document than what we had hundred years back.

It is an ever-growing area and many more new interpretations of the existing law and many more amendments, omissions and additions of provisions are yet to come, considering the fact that new inventions are being done across the world and India needs to match with all other nations globally. So, this law will only expand to ensure that inventions remain secure and inventors remain satisfied along with the growth of the economy of the nation.

REFERENCES/CITATIONS:

Kalinga University / Law PATENT LAW IN INDIA- Barkha Dodai, Department of Law.docx

Document Law-PATENT LAW IN INDIA- Barkha Dodai, Department of Law.docx (D78218000)

WR Cornish, Intellectual Property, 3(2003, Oxford University Press).

AIR 1882 SC 1444

Vinita Radhakrishnan, Arun k Narasani & Kalyan C. Kankanala, Indian Patent Law and Practice, 1 (1^st ed., 2010, Oxford University Press)

John H. Barton, ‘Issues posed by a World Patent System’ in Keith E. Maskus and Jerome H. Reichman, International Public Goods and Transfer of Technology under a Globalized Intellectual Property Regime, 346(Cambridge University Press,2005)