Publications
Publications
- February 2002 (Revised March 2002)
- HBS Case Collection
India's Intellectual Property Rights Regime and the Pharmaceutical Industry
Abstract
In 1970, the Indian government significantly revised its patent law, Patents and Design Act of 1911. The 1911 act was enacted when India was a colony of Great Britain, and it was controversial because it led to the total dominance of India's pharmaceutical market by multinational corporations. The 1970 act substantially reduced both the scope and the extent of patent protection, and some credited the act with the creation of India's own indigenous pharmaceutical industry. In 1994, the Indian government committed itself to conforming its intellectual property rights regime to the requirements of the WTO. Domestic political opposition was fierce toward any attempts to move away from the 1970 act.
Keywords
Citation
Huang, Yasheng, and Hal Hogan. "India's Intellectual Property Rights Regime and the Pharmaceutical Industry." Harvard Business School Case 702-039, February 2002. (Revised March 2002.)