Patents, Pharmaceuticals, and Efficacy

Abstract

Section 3 of the Patents Act, 1970 deals with the test of patent eligibility and provides a non-exhaustive list of instances that cannot be recognized as inventions for the purpose of granting patents i.e. non-eligible subject matter, for instance, frivolous patents is a non-eligible subject matter as listed out in the provision under Section 3(a). There has been an increasing trend in the pharmaceutical sector of filing frivolous patents i.e. inventions that are bereft of any utility due to a lack of purpose. In response to this problem of increasing frivolous patents, Section 3 (d) of the Patents Act was introduced after the amendment of 2005. This paper strives to examine the efficacy of Section 3(d) in the background of the purpose for which it was introduced.

Keywords: Patents, Pharmaceuticals, Intellectual Property Rights, Efficacy, the Patents Act