Groups working on healthcare access in India have said the proposed U.S.-India MoU on Intellectual Property Rights (IP) is a matter of serious concern.
The groups including the All India Drug Action Network (AIDAN), the National Working Group on Patent Laws, the WTO Campaign for Access to Medicines and Devices–India and the Third World Network (India) Drug Action Forum, Karnataka (DAF-K) have approached the Central government saying the U.S. had been pressing India to make changes in its IP legislation, rules and procedures through the annual United States Trade Representative (USTR) Special 301 reports and was also interested in getting the Indian IP management officials to opt for a stronger IP regime.
“India’s IP laws especially the Patents Act, Copyrights Act and Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights Act contain robust public interest safeguards against the abuse of IP monopolies. These public health provisions in the Patents Act are crucial for ensuring affordable generic medicines for the people. Therefore, we caution that such a move may undermine the legislative intent behind our Patents Act,’’ the group noted. They urged a review of the IP laws which should be in accordance with the needs of the country.
