Patent Essay

Patent is a form of Intellectual Property Right granted and protected by law. It offers protection over creative labour for a specified period of time. The word ‘Patent’ refers to a monopoly right over an invention. A patent is a grant of a right, privilege or authority over an invention. In a sense, it is limited monopoly granted by the state under a statute in return for the disclosure of technical information. The law relating to patents in India is governed by the Patents Act 1970.

1.2.1Definition of Patent
The word ‘Patent’ implies openness and accessibility. The term patent originated from the Latin term literae patentes which means ‘open letters’.

The Patents Act defines patent as a patent for any invention granted under the Act. An invention may relate to a new product or process. A patent confers on the patentee a bindle of rights for a limited period which includes the right to exclude others from manufacturing, using, offering for sale, selling or importing the invention in India. This limited monopoly can be exercised for a period of 20 years, after which any person can exploit the rights held by the patentee.

1.2.2Purpose of granting patent
The grant of a patent bestows the benefit of exclusivity on the inventor for a limited period of time, upon the expiry of which the benefit of accessibility of the invention is opened to the public at large. The underlying purpose of the patent system is the encouragement of improvements and innovation.. thus the purpose of grant of a patent is not only to reward the inventor but also to encourage the public disclosure of inventions. In Bishwanath Prasad Radhey Shyam v Hindustan Metal Industries, Justice Sarkaria detailed the purpose of patent law: The subject of patent La...

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...es: (1) the brand name companies which are usually multinational in their operation and (2) Generic companies which in comparison are smaller and manufacture bulk drugs not covered by a patent.

1.3.2Process patent and product patent
The fact that pharmaceuticals were inevitably regarded as a part of public health, led many countries to provide for special regulations for them. Some countries which granted for product patents for ordinary inventions, allowed only process patents for pharmaceuticals. India too, till 2005, granted only process patents for pharmaceutical substances. This enabled Indian manufacturers to make copies of drugs patented elsewhere by finding out the constituents through reverse engineering. It is believed that a distinction between a product patent and a process patent was instrumental to the success of the pharmaceutical industry in India.