The Ministry of Commerce & Industry has invited comments from all stakeholders on the first Draft of the National IPR Policy. The draft was submitted by the IPR Think Tank set up by the Government of India December 19 and was released by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) on December 24. Comments and suggestions need to be sent to ipr@nic.in on or before January 30, 2015. The document will be updated by the IPR Think Tank on the basis of comments received from the stakeholders. Initial comments from the industry indicate that the draft seems to be balanced in important areas. The current draft released will no doubt be compared to IPR policy recommendations submitted to the DIPP on October 21 by a three-member IPR think tank selected by the DIPP. The DIPP seemingly bypassed these recommendations, putting together a second IPR think tank. While the first think tank comprised three academicians, questions have been raised about the conflict of interest some members of the second think tank have, as they have represented pharma companies on IPR matters.
EP News Bureau – Mumbai