INDIA BUSINESS WORLD - APRIL 2007
The Month that was ...

GOVERNMENT UNLIKELY TO ALLOW MASHELKAR RE-VISIT ITS REPORT

THE government is unlikely to give the Technical Expert Group on patent law - headed by former CSIR DG RA Mashelkar - more time to re-visit its report. Following Mr. Mashelkar's decision to quit as chairman, the government is not keen to allow the group to replace controversial portions of the report with more appropriate suggestions.

The department of industrial policy & promotion (DIPP) will soon decide the fate of the report, official sources said. The entire report could be rejected or the government may accept some suggestions, the sources explained. Current indications are the report would not be accepted in full.

Commerce & industry minister Kamal Nath may consult other departments before taking a final call on the report, the sources said. For instance, suggestions of the chemicals and fertilizers ministry would be sought. However, these suggestions would not be binding on DIPP. The Mashelkar panel had submitted its report on December 29, 2006. "Though DIPP is yet to take a firm stand on the report, there may not be any re-visiting. The department will take a call after considering the report," a DIPP official said. The official, however, did not clarify how much time it may take to come out with a final decision. Since India is a signatory to the Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (Trips) pact, the Centre had asked the Mashelkar panel to examine whether 'incremental innovations' were compatible with Trips. The panel had concluded that patents should be granted on 'incremental innovations' or improvements made on existing substances. However, it said efforts should be made to discourage 'ever-greening', a term used to describe efforts by drug companies to obtain patents after making minor changes in existing substances. The Left parties, several Indian drug manufacturers and NGOs, however, claimed that it would lead to 'ever-greening'.