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The Accumulation of Capabilities in Indian Pharmaceuticals and Software: The Roles that Patents Did (and Did Not) Play

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

Abstract

This chapter discusses India. Following the 1972 patent law amendment that prohibited product patents in pharmaceuticals, new Indian pharmaceutical firms entered and old firms expanded, competing to reverse-engineer bulk drugs. Also, two government pharmaceutical firms provided a training ground for scientists who later established private firms. Since the 1990s, some firms began to move away from imitation to innovation but, with the 2005 reform of the patent law to comply with TRIPS, the future of the pharmaceutical industry is yet unclear. In software, the growth was supported by the liberalization in the 1980s and 1990s that made the import of hardware and multinationals' investment easier, and by the presence of a large pool of technically trained engineers. Unlike pharmaceuticals, however, patents were generally not a big factor.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationIntellectual Property Rights, Development, and Catch-Up
Subtitle of host publicationAn International Comparative Study
PublisherOxford University Press
ISBN (Electronic)9780191722660
ISBN (Print)9780199574759
DOIs
StatePublished - May 1 2010
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • India
  • Patent
  • Pharmaceutical
  • Software
  • TRIPS

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Business, Management and Accounting

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