Friday, March 18 2005 14:33 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Government today (Mar 18, 2005) introduced in Lok Sabha the controversial Patents Bill amidst vehement opposition from Left parties, outsider supporters of the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) Government, and the NDA (National Democratic Alliance).

The Bill, piloted by Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath, seeks to replace an ordinance issued on December 26 to meet WTO obligations of allowing product patents in pharmaceuticals, agri products and embedded software.

The Bill was introduced by a voice vote amid noisy protests from Opposition benches and Left party members who contended that the House has no Legislative competence to pass this Bill which threatened fundamental right to life of people.

Suresh Kurup of CPM (Communist Party of India-Marxist), said the ordinance was brought behind the back of Parliament and was against all democratic spirit.

He contended that once the Legislation was enacted, Indian pharmaceutical companies would be at the mercy of multinational companies.

V Radhakrishnan, also of CPM, accused the Government of committing a "fraud on the Constitution" by invoking emergency provisions under Article 123 to bring in the ordinance.

Veerendra Kumar, JDS (Janata Dal Secular), said Government was considering Parliament as an "informing body" and strongly objected to introduction of the Bill.

N N Krishnadas, CPM, argued that the bill was against Article 21 of the Constitution which provides for right to life.

Prabodh Panda of CPI (Communist Party of India), complained that before bringing the Bill, Government has not held any discussion with States and their Chief Ministers.

BJP (Bhartiya Janata Party) deputy leader V K Malhotra demanded that the Bill be withdrawn.

Kamal Nath assured the members that they would get opportunity to discuss the Bill in the House.

In the din that followed, some of the BJP members demanded division (voting) but the Speaker pointed out that the Bill has already been introduced and he has moved to the next item on the agenda.

The statement of objects and reasons said the time frame for this patent amendments through an ordinance was most crucial as any slippage in meeting the deadline of January 1, 2005 has the potential of inviting a retaliatory action under the WTO disputes mechanism.

Having availed of the entire ten-year period provided under TRIPs agreement, Indian had no legal basis to defend its default on the deadline.

The past record of delayed implementation would also not have helped the Indian case, it said adding this default would also have created a legal vacuum for "mailbox" applications for patents as there would not be any mechanism to deal with them after January 1, 2005.

The Bill aims at introducing product patent protection in all fields of technology including drugs, food and chemicals.

Product patent in other fields already existed under the existing patent law. The Bill modifies provisions relating to exclusive marketing rights as they were part of transitional arrangements.