India Asks U.S. To Stiffen Their Own Laws on Patent Regime


India Asks U.S. To Stiffen Their Own Laws on Patent Regime

Bangalore: For some time now, the U.S. government was criticizing India’s laws on intellectual property rules. But now the Indian government has turned back and asked U.S. to stiffen their own laws and to control the increasing practices of ‘ever greening’ and ‘trolling’ by U.S. drug companies, reports Amiti Sen from ‘Business Line’.

‘Trolling’ is a process in which an individual or a company will buy a patent usually from a bankrupt company. It also includes threatening other companies by manufacturing similar products to the patented one without itself manufacturing the product.

‘Ever-greening’ is a process where patent holders trying to expand their patents beyond its normal life by just making minute changes in the product is called ‘ever-greening’.

When Anand Sharma, Minister of Commerce and Industry recently visited U.S., he picked up the serious issue of patent misuse by American drug companies in a short meeting with Trade Representative Michael Froman and U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker.

Commerce Secretary S.R. Rao said “The Minister stressed on the need for the U.S. Government to strengthen patent laws in his meeting with officials. Even the U.S. courts have given verdicts against the process of trolling.”

Considering this, India also said that there won’t be any changes in its intellectual property regime, as it will become more favorable for the illegal patent users.

The U.S. Trade Representative has been constantly placing India in the priority watch list under the special report on countries with low patent protection.

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