Modi Urged Not To Amend Patents Act Under U.S. Pressure

NEW DELHI: Saying that much pressure will be put on Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his US visit to modify India's Patents Act, a group of concerned citizens and groups Tuesday asked the government to desist from plans to make amendments to increase patent protection.

"We call upon the prime minister, during his visit to the U.S., not to make any legal or political commitment that compromises flexibilities in the Indian Patents Act for facilitating access to medicines and safeguarding public health, which is based on policies and principles approved by Indian Parliament and is fully consistent with international laws," the group of individuals and organisations convened by the National Working Group on Patent Laws said in a statement.

Basing their apprehensions on Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's statement earlier this month that the government would roll out a revised policy on Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs), the citizens' group rebutted Sitharaman's claim that India does not have an IPR policy.

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