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Under the TRIPS Agreement, India as a WTO member must accept certain obligations. A foreign pharmaceutical firm argues that India must grant product patents in all fields of technology. Which statement best reflects India's position after complying with TRIPS?

India now grants product patents in all fields of technology, including pharmaceuticals, as TRIPS requires, but retains flexibilities such as Section 3(d), which demands enhanced efficacy for new forms of known substances. It cannot exclude pharmaceuticals entirely, and the patent term is 20 years.

  1. AIndia may exclude pharmaceutical products from patent law entirely, as it did before
  2. BIndia grants product patents in all fields including pharmaceuticals, but it may apply its own patentability criteria and exclusions permitted under TRIPS, such as Section 3(d) for new forms of known substancesCorrect
  3. CIndia must grant a patent for every new form of a known substance without any further efficacy requirement
  4. DIndia is required to grant patents for a term of 10 years only

Explanation

India amended the Patents Act (notably in 2005) to provide product patents in all fields, meeting TRIPS Article 27. TRIPS allows members to set patentability standards and certain exclusions, so India retains Section 3(d), which requires enhanced efficacy for new forms of known substances. Excluding pharma products would breach TRIPS, and the patent term is 20 years, not 10.

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