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Apex Court asks Centre to clarify stance on TRIPS

The Supreme Court today asked the Union government to give its views within three weeks on setting up of a committee of experts to review the implementation of obligations under the trade-related intellectual property rights or TRIPS.

A three-judge bench, comprising Chief Justice A S Anand, Justice M J Rao and Justice Santosh Hegde, asked the Attorney General of India for his comments within three weeks.

The bench issued the reference after hearing arguments on the public interest petition filed by the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology.

Earlier, senior counsel Indira Jaising submitted before the court that the petitioner was concerned with two aspects of the matter -- the first being medicines and drugs and the second food security.

The petition also prayed that the Patent (Amendment) Act, 1999 be declared ''unconstitutional'' since it was against national interest.

She contended that in another related matter, the Attorney General had stated last year that the Bio-Diversity Bill and the Geographical Indicators Bill were in the process of being finalised for introduction in Parliament. The Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights Protection Bill was also likely to be introduced in Parliament soon.

Attorney General Soli J Sorabjee had also stated that the government was fully alive to the situation and was taking all necessary steps to protect the interest of the nation.

The petitioner, however, stated that the steps taken by the government in bringing the Patent (Amendment) Act seriously affects the bio-diversity which the government undertook to protect by bringing the Bio-Diversity Act.

UNI

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