'IPR may be enhanced at the cost of public interest'

NEW DELHI: The draft of the Substantive Patent Law Treaty (SPLT) moved by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) proposes to curtail governments’ power to obstruct IPR in the “public interest.�
The WIPO draft, backed by the US and the EU seeks to enhance IPR at the cost of technology transfer and public interest, according to government officials here. The apparent intent of the WIPO move is to achieve harmonisation of IPR laws of WTO member countries.
The SPLT, although it would not impose a legal obligation on the governments, is expected to be a norm among all WTO member countries.
Non-compliance with the norm can lead to unfavourable reactions from countries like the US and the EU. What the Indian side found seriously objectionable in the draft are the provisos pertaining to patentability of an invention and the scope of the item of “prior art�, officials said.
Last fortnight, the draft was discussed in Geneva by government and non-government associations of WTO member countries.
Senior commerce ministry officials and representative of Assocham and the Indian Drug Manufacturers’ Association took part in the deliberations on the draft from the Indian side.
“We are convinced of the Indian government’s stout defence of the move to reduce the power of governments to act in public interest,� said Gajanan Wakankar, executive director, IDMA.