Despite high standards such as anti-evergreening provisions in the Patents Act, the practice of evergreening is rampant in India. Critically examine the cause and consequence of such practices.
Refer – The Hindu
IAS Parliament 7 years
KEY POINTS
· The IPO incorporated various anti-evergreening provisions into the Patents Act.
· It restricts the patentability of a host of secondary patents, which were basically alternative forms of already existing patented drugs aimed to further extend their term of protection.
Causes of rampant evergreening
· In recent times, the IPO has been focussing on granting patents expeditiously and reducing the backlog of pending applications.
· Despite high standards for granting patents, the IPO has been granting patents for merely tweaks in drugs.
· Stringent rules are being bypassed by the patent applicants and it allows the IPO to grant patents only for new form of substances and not combination of known substances.
Consequence of evergreening
· Blockbuster medicines are crucial to the success of public health.
· The extension of patent exclusivity will make major drugs unaffordable and inaccessible to the people.
· Race to profits disincentives innovation and would limit research into new drugs.
