Patents and Competition Law: Identifying Jurisdictional Metes and Bounds in the Indian Context 27 National Law School of India Review 2015

27 Nat'l L. Sch. India Rev. 135 (2015)
Patents and Competition Law: Identifying Jurisdictional Metes and Bounds in the Indian Context

handle is hein.journals/nlsind27 and id is 155 raw text is:

PATENTS AND COMPETITION LAW:

IDENTIFYING JURISDICTIONAL METES

AND BOUNDS IN THE INDIAN CONTEXT

-J Sai Deepak

Abstract The primary object of this article is to understand
the relationship between patent rights and competition law under
the existing Indian legal framework. It has become imperative
to elucidate the legal position on the interplay between the two,
in light of growing antitrust concerns arising out of the exercise
of patent rights. The author has employed conventional princi-
ples of statutory interpretation to the relevant provisions of the
Patents Act, 1970 and the Competition Act, 2002 to arrive at his
conclusions, with Expert Committee Reports playing a corrobo-
rative role.

I. INTRODUCTION

Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) and Competition law are usually per-
ceived as sharing an uneasy relationship given their seemingly contrasting goals.
However, to pit one against the other without qualifications and riders may not
do justice to the nuances of their respective natures, roles and goals. The system
of IPRs is premised on the assumption that grant of exclusive rights for a limited
term is desirable to promote dynamic competition, which pushes the envelope of
innovation and thereby contributes to enlarging the basket of choices available to
consumers. In other words, in theory, incentivising innovation through IPRs ele-
vates the level of competition from static to dynamic, which is in contrast to the
adversarial perception of IPRs and competition law. That being said, in practice,
even the most stringently regulated right is susceptible to abuse at the hands of
a determined and motivated right owner to the detriment of healthy competition.
This necessitates the existence of a safety valve in the form of competition law.

Simply put, the goal of competition law with respect to IPRs is to ensure that
the said species of rights are exercised within the limits prescribed by law and
in a manner which is beneficial to consumers and which promotes competition.

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