Press Information Bureau

Government of India

Ministry of Commerce & Industry

17-August-2011 18:15 IST

IP Protection Norms for Manufacturing Cheap Generic Drugs

A Political Declaration was adopted in the UN General Assembly on 10th June 2011 on HIV/AIDS. This declaration, inter alia, recognized the importance of affordable medicines, including generics in scaling up access to affordable HIV treatment. It mentions that protection and enforcement measures for intellectual property rights should be compliant with Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement and should be interpreted and implemented in a manner supportive of the right of Member States to protect public health and, in particular, to promote access to medicines for all.

However, the underlying principle of India’s negotiating strategy on issues relating to IPR is that commitments will have to be fully circumscribed by TRIPS and the present domestic legal framework for IPR in India.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry. Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia in a written reply to a question, in the Rajya Sabha today.

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TRIPS compliance should circumscribe IPR commitments, preserving states' ability to protect public health and access to medicines. A UN political declaration recognized affordable medicines and stated that IP protection and enforcement should be implemented consistent with TRIPS while supporting states' rights to protect public health; India's negotiating stance is that international IPR commitments must be strictly circumscribed by TRIPS compliance and India's existing domestic IPR framework to preserve policy space for affordable generic medicines.