A Comparative Study of Patent Laws in India and the United States of America

This paper examines the evolution of patent systems in India and the United States, with specific reference to changes pertaining to pharmaceuticals, to assess how both the nations have adopted changes overtime to protect intellectual property while simultaneously protecting public interest, i.e., affordable health care. The analysis suggests that the patent laws of both the countries stayed within the standards established by international patent regime; and, that they reflect the interests specific to their utilizations of intellectual property. India utilized its opportunities to adjust its patent law to suit its needs at various stages of development and benefited from those opportunities. Likewise, the United States has reached a level of technological predominance because of the utilization of its opportunities as an industrialized economy.

Keywords: Patent Laws, Trips, Wto, Wipo, Pharmaceuticals.