Evergreening of Patents and Indian Patents Law

Abstract

Inventive activity necessitates dissemination of information across the spectrum of intellectual provenance, to ensure advancement in research and development. The disclosure requirement in case of patents fulfills this very purpose. Obtaining monopoly over an invention is subject to the disclosure requirement, whereafter the monopoly rights can be exercised for the term of the patent. However, there are attempts to unjustifiably stretch this monopoly by obtaining patents over insignificant or trivial modifications of the invention. This paper seeks to analyse the practice of evergreening in the context of Indian Patents Act and discusses the famous Novartis case, where the test of evergreening efficacy was laid down.

Keywords: evergreening, patent, invention, efficacy, Novartis, 3D, Madras High Court