First legislation in India relating to patents was enacted in 1856 to encourage inventions.

Act of 1856 was Repealed by Act of 1857. In 1859, the 1857 Act was further amended to grant ‘Exclusive Privileges’ to useful inventions.

The above Act of 1856 and the subsequent amendment excluded importers from purview of Inventors.

The Act of 1859 was further amended in 1883 to introduce a provision to protect novelty of the inventions, which prior to making application for their protection was disclosed in exhibitions of India.

In 1888 a new legislation was introduced to consolidate the amendment made.

Shifting of authority to administer the Act from the Home department to Secretary to Government of India;

Extension of the jurisdiction of the Act to other courts apart from High Courts of Madras, Calcutta and Bombay;

Reduction in the fee from Rs. 100 to Rs. 10 only at filing stages; Provision for detailed disclosure of the invention, including best

mode of working the invention in full clear, concise and exact terms so as to enable any person skilled in the art or science to make use of the invention;

Provision of powers to call for a model of the invention; Change of time for filing petition in respect of patent granted in

United Kingdom from 12 months from the ‘letters patent’ to 12 months from the ‘date of sealing’;

Provision for granting compulsory license where invention is not made accessible to public, on reasonable terms;

Appointment of Agents to encourage filing by foreign inventor; Introduction of provision for protection of new or original design; Provision for counting the grace period for filing application for

invention displayed in the Exhibition from the date of admission of the invention into the Exhibition instead of the date of the opening of the Exhibition.

This Act brought patent administration under the management of Controller of Patents for the first time.

This Act was amended in 1920 to provide for entering into reciprocal arrangements with UK and other countries for securing priority

In 1930, further amendments were made to incorporate, inter-alia, provisions relating to patent of addition, use of invention by Government, powers of the Controller to rectify register of patent and increase of term of the patent from 14 years to 16 years.

In 1945, another amendment was made to provide for filing of provisional specification and submission of complete specification within nine months.

A committee under Justice (Dr.). Bakshi Tek Chand was appointed to provide recommendations on the current Patent Law towards the national interest.

The Committee submitted its report in 1949. The main recommendations of the committee were as follows:

Any interested person may apply for a compulsory licence or revocation

of the patent on any of the following grounds, namely — (i) patented invention, being capable of being

commercially worked in India, is not being commercially worked therein to the fullest possible extent;

(ii) demand for the patented article in India is not being met to an adequate extent or on reasonable terms;

(iii) commercial working of the invention in India is being prevented or hindered by the importation of the patented articles; and

(iv) the refusal of the patentee to grant a licence or licences on reasonable terms, whereby the commercial or industrial activities in India are prevented or hindered;

Based on the recommendations of the Committee, Following grounds were provided for making applications for compulsory license:

(a) patented invention, being capable of being commercially worked in India, is not being commercially worked therein to the fullest possible extent;

(b) demand for the patented article in India is not being met to an adequate extent or on reasonable terms;

(c) commercial working of the invention in India is being prevented or hindered by the importation of the patented articles;

(d) the refusal of the patentee to grant a license or licenses on reasonable terms, the commercial or industrial activities in India are prevented or hindered;

(e) a market for the export of the patented article manufactured in India is not being supplied;

(f) the working or efficient working in India of any other patented invention which makes a substantial contribution to the establishment or development of commercial or industrial activities in India is unfairly prejudiced; and

(g) conditions of license unfairly prejudiced the establishment or development of commercial or industrial activities in India.

In 1952, an amendment was made to provide compulsory license in relation to patents in respect of food and medicines, insecticide, germicide or fungicide and a process for producing substance or any invention relating to surgical or curative devices, through Act of 1952 . The compulsory license was also available on notification by the Central Government. Based on the recommendations of the Committee, a bill was introduced in the Parliament in 1953. However, the bill lapsed on dissolution of the Lok Sabha.

In 1957, the Government of India appointed Justice N.

Rajagopala Ayyangar Committee to examine the question

of revision of the Patent Law and advise government

accordingly. Based on the committee recommendations,

the Patents Act, 1970 was passed. This act repealed the

1911 Act relating to Law of Patents.

Codifies inventions which are not patentablePatent can be granted for methods or processes or manufactureValidity period of Patent of process relating to food, medicine and drug is five years from the date of sealing of the Patent or seven years from the date of Patent whichever is shorter. In other cases its fourteen years.Provides for endorsement of patent with the words “licenses of right”Provides for compulsory licensing.Provides for use of inventions for purposes of Government and acquisition of inventions by the Central Government.Provides for revocation of Patent s in public interest

India is a member-state of Word Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), an International Organisation, responsible for the promotion of the protection of intellectual property throughout the world. India is a member of the following International Organisations and Treaties in respect of Patents:

World Trade Organization (WTO) with effect from 01 January 2005.

Paris Convention for the protection of Industrial Property with effect from December 7, 1998.

Patent Co-operation Treaty (PCT) with effect from December7, 1998.

Budapest Treaty with effect from 17th December, 2001.

World Trade Organization [WTO] was set up under the provisions of Uruguay Round Table in Geneva. WTO facilitates implementation and administration of Trade regulations. WTO will conduct periodic review of member country trade policy for violations of Trade obligations.

World Intellectual Property Organization [WIPO] is an inter-governmental organization. WIPO is responsible for promotion of the protection of intellectual property throughout the world. WIPO centralizes the administration of the International Bureau which is the Secretariat of WIPO.

The Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) is an international agreement administered by the World Trade organization (WTO) that sets down minimum standards for many forms of intellectual property (IP) regulation. It was negotiated at the end of the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1994. TRIPS contains requirements that nations' laws must meet for Patents;

TRIPS was negotiated at the end of the Uruguay Round of the GATT in 1994, the GATT became the basis for the establishment of the World Trade Organization. Because ratification of TRIPS is a compulsory requirement of World Trade Organization membership, any country seeking to obtain easy access to the numerous international markets opened by he World Trade Organization must enact the strict intellectual property laws mandated by TRIPS. For this reason, TRIPS is the most important multilateral instrument for the globalization of intellectual property laws. States like Russia and China that were very unlikely to join the Berne Convention have found the prospect of WTO membership a powerful enticement.

TRIPS requires member states to provide strong protection relating to Patents. For example, under TRIPS:

Patents must be granted in all "fields of technology," although exceptions for certain public interests are allowed and must be enforceable for at least 20 years .

No unreasonable prejudice to the legitimate interests of the right holders of computer programs and patents is allowed.

Legitimate interests of third parties have to be taken into account by patent rights.

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