AN INTRODUCTION TO BIOTECH PATENTS

Abstract :

Our traditional treatises in medicine such as Ayurveda and Siddha are still prescribed by medical practitioners at par with the modern medicine. Our intellectual efforts, investments and creations need legal protection. Intellectual Property offices are the authority created by government to regularise, register, protect and promote the intellectual property. Intellectual property rights are bundle of rights which include Patent right, Trade mark, Copy rights, Industrial designs, Integrated circuits and layout designs, trade secrets, the protection of plant varieties and farmers rights and geographical indications. In India the Intellectual Property Rights are administered by the Controller General of Patents Designs and Trademarks. Patent right is an exclusive right granted to a person who has invented a new and useful article or an improvement over an existing article. The right enjoyed by the inventor over his/her invention is Patent right. It is a monopoly right granted for a limited period of time and is territorial in nature. The protection, promotion and administration of rights associated with patents in India are regulated by the Patents Act, 1970. The Patent owner can commercially exploit his right by manufacturing, selling or licensing the patented article or technology. Patentability is the ability of the invention to make itself eligible for a grant of patent. The criteria of patentability are novelty, inventive step, industrial applicability and utility. Patent system promotes technology and aids in transfer and dissemination of technology to the mutual advantage of producers and users.