Here below are extracts of comments made by Switzerland, Brazil and the United States at the Trade Policy Review of India at the WTO in May 2007 in addition to responses by the Government of India.
-Anivar -------------------- WT/TPR/M/182 9 July 2007 Trade Policy Review Body 23 and 25 May 2007 Trade Policy Review INDIA Minutes of Meeting Chairperson: H.E. Mr. Vesa Himanen (Finland) --------------------- <SNIP> 59. The representative of Switzerland welcomed the dynamism of Indian businesses, which had benefited from a progressive opening of the Indian economy, and had taken advantage of the opportunities of globalization. As Indian entrepreneurs were increasingly becoming competitive in international markets, he was convinced that India would play an active role in the global economy. He commended the increase in bilateral trade. The globalization of the Indian economy was also reflected in the recent increase of outward investment activities of Indian companies. <SNIP> 61. With the introduction of the new Patent Act in 2005, India had showed its willingness and capacity to achieve substantial progress in sensitive issues related to IPR protection. Ensuring effective implementation would be in the interest of India's own industry. As the new Patents Act had not yet been subject to review, he sought clarification related to, inter alia, the scope of patentability, the treatment of patents relating to pharmaceuticals filed before the entry into force of the new Patents Act, patent administration, and rules relating to the unfair commercial use of test data. <SNIP> 93. The representative of Brazil stated that India's impressive economic performance was not a recent phenomenon. Between 1980 and 2002, the country's economy had grown on average at 6% annually, making India one of the best-performing nations in the last quarter of the 20th century. At present, more than 100 Indian companies had a market capitalization of over US$1 billion, and 125 of the fortune 500 companies had R&D bases in India. The age curve of the Indian population pointed to the imminence of a "demographic dividend", whereby a large young workforce would become ripe for contributing to the expansion of the economy, as long as the appropriate conditions were in place. In 2005, the combined output of emerging economies surpassed that of the developed economies, accounting for more than 50% of the world's GDP. India's share should not be underestimated. The re-emergence of India provided additional impetus to the growth of the world economy, making new partnerships possible and providing new investment opportunities to the benefit of all. A new geography of the world economy was taking shape, and Southeast Asia would be a significant component. 94. The Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health, unanimously adopted by WTO Members on 14 November 2001, asserted that intellectual property rules should not prevent countries from protecting public health. Brazil welcomed certain elements in India's national patent legislation and practices, in particular the application of an effective threshold of novelty and inventive step in the examination of patents on drugs and medicines, which appeared to be a considerable improvement in the quality of patens granted in India. Public consultations regarding the state of art in the medical technologies also seemed to contribute to a more effective system. He asked India to share its experience in this area. Brazil also commended India for its efforts to improve the international IP system, as concerned certain principles and objectives of the Convention on Biodiversity. In particular, India's active support for an amendment to the TRIPS Agreement on disclosure of origin of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge was a critical step. <SNIP> 127. The representative of India (Mr. Pillai) appreciated Members' interest and the lively discussion on India's Trade Policies Review. India had been one of the fastest growing economies in the world during the past few years. <SNIP> 146. Since its last Review, India had updated its IP-related legislation to meet international obligations. The Patent Act, amended in 2005, had introduced a product patent regime for food, drugs, and chemicals. At the same time, adequate safeguards were introduced to protect India's national interests, in particular, issues related to public health. <SNIP> 149. He considered the Patents Act fully compliant with the TRIPS Agreement, as well as the Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health. Section 3(d) of this Act was aimed at maintaining a balance between IP protection and public health concerns. This section was incorporated in the Patents Act with the deliberate intention of allowing access to medicines, while rewarding real innovations. A dilution of this provision could have far-reaching consequences on the access to essential medicines by millions of people in the developing world. <SNIP> 185. The representative of the United States appreciated the written responses provided by India, and asked for some further clarifications... <SNIP> 189. On intellectual property, he asked India to elaborate how Section 3(d) of the Patents Act fell within the three categories for determining patentability: i.e. novelty, inventive step, and industrial applicability. Further, as the Section 3(d) applied to pharmaceutical products, he asked whether and how this provision applied to other fields of technology. 190. On copyrights, the United States still had questions about whether a compulsory licence could be issued under Section 31 and 31A for a U.S.-produced work if that work was published in India within 30 days of publication in another territory. He also asked about the number of licences granted by the Registrar of Copyrights pursuant to Sections 31 and 31A in the last five years, and requested information as to the types of works, uses of works sought by complainants, and any additional information on how these licences were granted. -- Anivar Aravind moving Republic Peringavu.P.O Thrissur-18 Kerala http://anivar.movingrepublic.org/about --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
