India's Journey Toward an Effective Patent System
The decade following India's accession to the World Trade Organization's Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property ushered in numerous changes to the country's patent system, culminating in a series of amendments in 2005. But a...
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| Format: | Policy Research Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2012
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2007/08/8020945/indias-journey-toward-effective-patent http://hdl.handle.net/10986/7503 |
| Summary: | The decade following India's
accession to the World Trade Organization's
Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property ushered in
numerous changes to the country's patent system,
culminating in a series of amendments in 2005. But a
functioning patent system is more than a statute. This
paper discusses the steps that India must still take to
develop an effective, functioning patent system capable of
attracting foreign direct investment, motivating domestic
innovation and education, and filtering its benefits to all
elements of Indian society, including the poor and the
possessors of traditional knowledge. The analysis combines
data studies of historical and recent patenting activity in
India and by Indians, interviews with Indian government
officials, intellectual property attorneys, industrialists,
and researchers, and lessons gleaned from patent systems
abroad. It identifies critical needs and concrete steps to
meet them. Improving public awareness of the
revenue-generating potential of patents will enhance
incentives for the participation of individuals and small
and medium enterprises in the patent system. Formalizing
guidelines for patents derived through government research
funds-coupled with needed changes in institutional
governance-will enhance prospects for technology transfer
from laboratories to commercial markets. Compensation
schemes for traditional knowledge will extend the benefits
of intellectual property rights to the poorest members of
society. This paper's recommendations would help India
achieve both a fully functioning patent system and a
mechanism for ensuring that poor people living traditional
lifestyles receive their share of the social gains that a
working innovation system can confer. |
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