B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 9 Intellectual Property Rights I 2024 Aug Question Paper with Solutions

For full marks, cover: definition of patent (section 2(1)(m)) and invention (section 2(1)(j)); the principles: (1) only inventions: novelty, inventive step, industrial application (Biswanath Prasad); (2) exclusions (sections 3, 4, Novartis); (3) disclosure (section 10); (4) the true and first inventor and first to file (section 6); (5) examination without warranty (section 13(4)) and opposition (section 25); (6) exclusive but limited rights (sections 48, 47, 107A); (7) limited term (section 53); (8) territoriality; (9) working in India and public interest (sections 83, 84, 146, Bayer).

What is a patent

Under section 2(1)(m) of the Patents Act, 1970, a "patent" means a patent for any invention granted under the Act. In plain words, a patent is an exclusive right granted by the State to an inventor for a limited time. In return, the inventor discloses the invention fully to the public. An "invention" means "a new product or process involving an inventive step and capable of industrial application" (section 2(1)(j)).

2. Some things are excluded. Sections 3 and 4 list what is not patentable, even if new. Examples are discoveries, methods of treatment, plants and animals, computer programmes per se, traditional knowledge and atomic energy inventions. In Novartis AG v. Union of India, (2013) 6 SCC 1, a new crystalline form of the cancer drug imatinib was refused under section 3(d). It showed no enhanced therapeutic efficacy. This principle prevents "ever-greening" of old medicines.

3. Disclosure is the price of the monopoly. The complete specification must fully describe the invention, disclose the best method of performing it and end with claims (section 10(4)). After the patent ends, the public may use it.

4. The true and first inventor, and first to file. An application may be made by the true and first inventor, his assignee or legal representative (section 6). Between rival applicants, the earlier priority date wins. The idea of the "true and first inventor" goes back to the English Statute of Monopolies, 1624.

9. Working in India and the public interest. Section 83 sets the general principles. Patents are granted to encourage inventions and to secure their working in India on a commercial scale. They are not granted merely to enable importation. They must not impede public health, and must make the invention available at reasonably affordable prices. Patentees must report working in Form 27, now once every three financial years (section 146, rule 131).

If these aims fail, a compulsory licence may be granted after three years (section 84). In Bayer Corporation v. Union of India, 2014 SCC OnLine Bom 963, Bayer's kidney cancer drug sorafenib cost about Rs 2,80,000 a month and was barely available in India. Natco got a compulsory licence to sell it at about Rs 8,800. The Bombay High Court upheld it, applying section 84.

Conclusion. A patent is a limited exclusive right granted for an invention in return for its full disclosure. Indian patent law rests on strict tests of patentability (Biswanath Prasad), clear exclusions (Novartis), disclosure, examination and opposition, a twenty-year term and territorial rights. Above all, section 83 requires patents to be worked in India and to serve public welfare, which compulsory licences enforce (Bayer).