Letter on Patent Ordinance to Gandhi Chairperson, UPA

[Guest guest]

Gandhi

Chairperson, UPA

10, Janpath, New Delhi 110 001

Dear Ms Gandhi

Sub: Ordinance to Amend of Patents Act 1970

I am writing this letter on behalf of Affordable Medicines and Treatment

Campaign (AMTC). AMTC is a national campaign aimed at creating an environment

that will ensure sustained accessibility and affordability of medicines and

treatment for every individual in India, including access to affordable

Anti-retroviral Therapy for persons living with HIV/AIDS. It consists of civil

society organisations, NGOs, patients groups, healthcare providers and concerned

individuals. Through this letter, AMTC would like to bring certain serious

concerns on the process as well as content of the third amendment of the Patents

Act to your notice.

As you are aware that the amendment process of Patents Act was initiated by the

previous NDA Government. A Bill was introduced to this effect in the 13th Lok

Sabha in December 2003. However, the bill lapsed due to the dissolution of Lok

Sabha. Public interest groups and individuals raised their objections on the

Bill from the very beginning and requested the new UPA government to redraft the

Bill. In response to these demands, the UPA government appointed a Group of

Ministers (GoM) to examine the contentious issues in the Bill.

However, the GoM, without inviting any comments from any stake holders, decided

to retain the old bill without any substantial change. The only change the GoM

agreed is to retain the pre-grant opposition with certain conditions. Further,

recommendations of the GoM should have been made public to create a debate on

this issue. Instead of doing this, the government went ahead with finalising the

provisions of the Bill.

Till date, the public is not aware of the exact content of the Bill, which is

going to have direct impact on their enjoyment of right to health. As per our

information, the Bill in its present form seriously compromises the

accessibility and availability of medicines, a primary component of right to

health. Introduction of the product patent is the only obligation under TRIPS to

be carried out by India. However, the draft bill goes beyond the TRIPS

obligation and strengthens patent monopoly without properly placing any

safeguards against abuse of patents. Please find enclosed specific objections to

the draft bill.

Moreover, we have learned from news reports that the government is bringing an

ordinance to amend the Patent Act by converting the draft bill into an

ordinance. The conversion of draft bill into ordinance is unwarranted and flawed

strategy to comply with TRIPS because many provisions in the draft Bill goes

beyond TRIPS obligations. Moreover, the ordinance route of amendment without any

discussion is fall short of transparency requirement of any democratic

government.

We feel that the deadline of introduction of patents should not be used as a

justification for bypassing public debate on this issue, where right to health

of millions are at stake. A few months delay in the introduction of product

patent is not going to create any consequence to India. We would like to remind

you the promise made in the Common Minimum Programme " to take all steps to

ensure availability of life savings drugs at reasonable prices " . Hence we seek

your intervention as chairperson of United Progressive Alliance to prevent the

government from introducing an ordinance to amend the Patent Act.

Hope to hear from you soon in this regard.

Thanking you

Anand Grover

Director, Lawyers Collective HIV/AIDS Unit

For AMTC.

E-mail: <aidslaw@...>