Intellectual Property Rights and Access to Medicines: A Comparative Analysis of Compulsory Licensing in Developed and Developing Nations

Abstract

Intellectual property rights (IPR) recently made us all look at it. IPR currently plays an very important role for a country’s development. Exposing the creative minds of the people and how those innovations or inventions being useful for the society. IPR is basically a protection given to creative work or innovation. Intellectual property gives an intangible right to the product of the human mind. Patents, Trade mark, copyrights, industrial designs and geographical indications are kinds of IP. The role of IPR in the pharmaceutical sector is giving a big support for the Research and Development sector so the manufacturers provide the society quality medicines and the generic medicines. A patent is nothing but a protection given to the invention or innovation. A patent is granted only when a product is new, useful and non obvious. Patent protects either the product or the process of the invention. It gives the owner an exclusive right to use, exploit, and sell the product. Patenting a drug prevents others from the unauthorized use of a drug and gives the innovator a monopoly right for a limited time period. When it comes patenting \ a drug only the process can be patented not the whole product before the IPA amendment Act 2005 , after the Amendment act,2005 the product can be patented.