From the Age of Antiquity to the Age of Modernization: An Overview of Patent History in India

India had a Patent Act which was a master piece legislation on Indian soil with deep rooted sentiments of Indian culture and traditions which did not provide for the product patents until 2005, It stood as an example to many countries which was able to protect Intellectual property and balanced the public interest which put the Indian Pharmaceutical companies to take advantage and helped in manufacturing the medicines at a very low cost of production. Apart from the Modern times and the growing phase of intellectual property rights, India had never practiced and believed the concept of intellectual property rights which can be utilized for earning livelihood, some of the good examples have been traced above. Though there are almost no examples of Commercial utilization of intellectual property in ancient times but if in cases these secret inventions are used for commercial purpose and fail to serve the purpose of welfare, these secrets were directly disclosed to everyone rather being commercially used anymore. This concept has led the Indian society follow the principle that if any invention or a new thing is invented or found must be donated or dedicated to the society’s welfare instead of using it for personal benefit. This article therefore deals with exploring the concepts and practices of Intellectual Property specifically Patent Law from ancient times to British rule and then growing to modern life, its use in the society, its amendments, its growth as well as the overall development of society with changes beliefs and customs.