Don't succumb to US pressure on IPR, Patents Act: SJM to govt

Ahead of US President Barack Obama's visit starting tomorrow, RSS's economic wing Swadeshi Jagran Manch has cautioned the government against succumbing to pressures on dilution of IPR issues.
The Manch said government should be cautious about the US wish-list for exerting pressure on New Delhi to dilute clauses on intellectual property rights (IPR) issues as well as e-commerce.
It has also pointed out that US companies are seeking to get the Clause 3(d) of Indian Patents Act, 1970, diluted and are pressurising the United States administration to put pressure on Indian government on the issue.
"Government should not succumb to their pressure on accepting their requirements on IPR as is every evident from reports coming from the US," SJM's national convener Ashwani Mahajan told PTI.

He cited issues like dilution of clause 3(d) of Patents Act prohibiting MNCs from getting their products repatented and the issue on compulsory licencing of drugs as major areas of concern to the country.
"The multi-national drug companies should not have their way in evergreening of their patents. The interests of US companies should not supercede the interests of humanity," Mahajan said, adding that the IPR issues are important for India and Indian companies which are manufacturing life-saving medicines at much cheaper rates than MNCs.
He also cited the famous Novartis patents case in this regard in which the Supreme Court had struck down the claims of Novartis on the patents issue and upheld the Indian patent office's rejection of the company's patent application.