Sunday, June 30, 2013

Impact of Natco v Bayer: A Giant Step Towards Reasonably Priced Healthcare

(Also read the article 'Game Changer In The Generic Industry' by Jasmine  Kaur)

Introduction
Girl Pill swallowing Capsule in mouth Lady animatedIn March 2012, the Indian Controller of Patents granted India’s first compulsory license under Section 84 of the Patents Act, 1970 to M/s Natco Pharma Ltd[1]. The order was in relation to Bayer Corporation’s patented anti cancer drug Sorafenib tosylate [2], marketed as Nexavar, which was made for the treatment of Renal Cell Carcinoma-RCC (kidney cancer) and also for the treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma-HCC (liver cancer)[3].

Compulsory licensing is 

Saturday, June 22, 2013

The Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012: A Landmark in Indian Copyright Legislation


"It is a step in the right direction in protecting the interest of the lyricists, who create wonderful songs,"[1]                                   

Introduction
Prior to 2012, the Copyright Act, 1957 has been amended five times. Of these, the amendment of 1994 is perhaps the most significant because it partially dealt with issues relating to digitisation of copyrighted works.
The Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012 (‘the Amendment Act’) is popularly concerned a boon, due to progressive amendments such as ‘right to royalty’ and exceptions for persons with disabilities, which received large media coverage. However, there are also a few