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India to join Paris Convention, may debate Patents Bill in winter session

After dithering for over four years, India has decided to become a signatory to the Paris Convention, thus lifting the veil of uncertainty on the intellectual property rights debate.

The Paris Convention, comprising 147 member countries, is for the protection of intellectual property rights. It also encompasses the Patent Co-operation Treaty but falls short of World Trade Organisation's trade-related aspects of IPR which stipulate patents for drug and agro-chemical products.

Industry circles reacted positively to the development. Indian inventors, they said, stand to benefit. For the treaty facilitates equal opportunity, right of priority and common rules for inventors of member-countries.

India has agreements on inventions with 78 countries. However, an Indian inventor seeking patents outside India had to apply separately in each country -- a laborious, expensive and even risky process. Now, he/ she merely has to apply for patent in India to get validity in the 147 member countries.

An applicant can get information about his field of activity and related patent applications in other countries at a faster rate than now, thanks to the centralised information network. Likewise, a preliminary international examination of a patent application will be done.

The applicant will also have the choice of seeking a patent in a home country or several countries. Indians living in any of the 147 member countries can apply for a patent from anywhere, not necessarily India.

India held back so far from the Paris Convention because of a misunderstanding that it includes product patents for pharmaceutical and agro-chemical sectors. After deliberations, the air was cleared.

Meanwhile, a group of ministers met in New Delhi last week to pave the way for the introduction of the Patents Bill in the winter session of Parliament. While one WTO stipulation lays down that a patents law should be in place by April 1, 1999, another commitment stipulates that by the year 2005, India will have to completely overhaul its patent laws to include patents for pharma and agro-chemical products.

The proposed bill is tipped to deny exclusive marketing rights to MNCs and stop process patents which are considered harmful to Indian inventors. However, opinion is divided across the political spectrum. Heated debate for and against the two aspects is imminent, sources said.

Media reports quoted industry sources as saying that joining the Paris Convention would go a long way in neutralising the negative feelings about India among the international community in the wake of the Pokhran nuclear tests.