Following Questions
The Technical Expert Group on Patent Law Issues
The Patents (Amendment) Bill, 2005, introduced in the Parliament in March, 2005 with the objective of making the Patents Act compatible with India's international obligations, particularly under the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) had the benefit of detailed discussion in both the Houses. During the debate, the issues regarding patentability of micro-organisms and the definition of 'pharmaceutical substance' to mean "a new chemical entity (NCE)" or "new medical entity (NME)" were raised. The Commerce and Industry Minister then assured the Parliament that he would refer these issues to an Expert Committee for detailed examination and report the matter to the Parliament. Accordingly, a Technical Expert Group on Patent Law Issues was set up by the Government of India, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion vide O. M. No. 12/14/2005-IPR-III dated April 5, 2005.
| The Technical Expert Group consisted of the following: | |
| Dr. R.A. Mashelkar Director General Council of Scientific and Industrial Research New Delhi |
Chairman |
| Prof. Goverdhan Mehta Director Indian Institute of Science Bangalore |
Member |
| Prof. Asis Datta Director National Centre for Plant Genome Research New Delhi |
Member |
| Prof. N.R. Madhava Menon Director National Judicial Academy Bhopal |
Member |
| Prof. Moolchand Sharma Director National Law Institute University Bhopal |
Member |
Terms of Reference of the Group were:
1. Whether it would be TRIPS compatible to limit the grant of patent for pharmaceutical substance to new chemical entity or to new medical entity involving one or more inventive steps; and
2. Whether it would be TRIPS compatible to exclude micro-organisms from patenting.