India - Patents (Amendment) Act, 2005

The Government of India has met the December 31 deadline for complying with its obligation to World Trade Organisation (WTO) under TRIPs agreement, by promulgating an Ordinance - The Patent (Amendment) Ordinance, 2004 followed by the Act - Patent (Amendment) Act, 2005.

Under TRIPS, India was required to introduce product patent where only process patent was permitted. Procedural changes were also required to be made as per Patent Co-operation Treaty (PCT). The new Act ensures adequate safeguards against misuse of patent rights and vests enough power with the Government to intervene and ensure that patented inventions are available for the public at an affordable price.

In nutshell, the most important changes are: