-The Hindu The Supreme Court judgment on Glivec is a blow for a patent regime with a higher threshold of inventiveness On April 1, 2013, the Supreme Court upheld the Intellectual Property Appellate Board's decision to deny patent protection to Novartis's application covering a beta crystalline form of imatinib -the medicine Novartis brands as Glivec, and which is very effective against the form of cancer known as chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML). The...
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Why corruption isn’t a poll issue in Karnataka -Prithvi Datta Chandra Shobhi
-The Indian Express If the BJP finds itself on the back foot today, it isn't because of corruption scandals, but due to the splintering of its social coalition As the stage is set for the state assembly elections in Karnataka, former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda recently made a surprising admission: corruption is not an issue in the upcoming elections, and the precipitous decline in political morality can only be arrested by...
More »A question of standards, not principle-Vinay Sitapati
-The Indian Express India is no insecure dictatorship junking international obligations for cheap populism. The highest court of the world's largest democracy has made a nuanced distinction between real innovation and marketing gimmickry. Yet, the Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis's response to the recent Supreme Court verdict in Novartis vs Union of India has been imperial in tone. The judgment "discourages innovative drug discovery", it claimed. It accused Indian law of lagging...
More »Novartis patent ruling a victory in battle for affordable medicines-Sarah Boseley
-The Guardian Had Novartis won, it would have set a precedent for patenting of other medicines in India, delaying their reaching the poor The battle for affordable, life-saving medicines for poor countries was once waged on first-world city streets with banners and placards. But for some years now it has been a long-hard legal slog in offices and courtrooms. A decade or so ago, it was mostly about access to Aids drugs. Firms...
More »Alphabetical order to discrimination-Sanjay Srivastava
-The Hindu Considering the knowledge of English as a mark of social advancement and that of the vernacular as backwardness disenfranchises significant sections of society In a village in Ghazipur district that borders Varanasi, there is a young man who teaches English and "personality development" to the sons and daughters of local shopkeepers, farmers and truck drivers. The classes are held from 6 to 8 in the morning and again in the...
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