Patent Law and Biotechnology

A Patent is an exclusive right granted to an inventor to protect their invention without secrecy and to exploit it to the exclusion of others for a period of 20 years. A patent can be considered one of the most important form of Intellectual Property Rights, having tremendous economic value. Patents have a vast history and the laws regarding them keep on evolving over the years depending on the need of the society and the pace and technicality of the innovations. In India, the Patent law is governed by the Patent Act, 1970 as amended by the Patents (Amendment) Act, 2005, and Patents Act RULES, 2006. Biotechnology has emerged to become an important tool for many researchers and the inventions arising out of it have spurred the creation of many inventors along with playing an important role in improving the nation’s health. It becomes impertinent that the rights of these inventors are protected and therefore, many biotechnological inventions related to pharmaceuticals, microorganisms and transgenic animals have been granted Patent protection all over the world. This paper aims to analyze the Patent law pertaining within India focusing mainly on the effect of the same on biotechnological inventions. It throws light on the patenting in the pharmaceutical industry, micro-organisms, and transgenic animals and how a check is maintained on the abuse of patent law by compulsory licensing.