A Diagnosis of the Damage Done to the Patents Act, 1970

Abstract

Indian patent law today is a strange combination of the U.K. Patents Act, 1949, TRIPS, CPI(M) inspired policies and last but not the least, the lack of imagination by the gentlemen who run the Government of India. As a result the Patents Act, 1970 is a combination of confusion, contradiction and principles which are outdated in the 21st Century. Even simple concepts like “anticipation” have been confused in the Patents Act, as a result of the amendments in 2002 & 2005. Other definitions like “inventive-step” were forced upon the Government of India by the CPI(M) without possibly a proper understanding of patent law. Furthermore, the current model of patent examination in India is of a forties vintage and the opposition mechanism which was amended in 2005 has made itself open to much abuse and delay. This paper attempts to examine some of these issues in context of the history of patent law in common law jurisdictions around the world and offer some solutions.