Harnessing Intellectual Property for Business Dominance: The Indian Experience

Dr. V.K. Unni, Assistant Professor, Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata

India which got its independence from Great Britain in 1947 used an economic model of self reliance which continued for almost four decades. During this period, protection of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) received scant attention in almost all sectors. However this has changed with the economic liberalization which happened in the year 1991. India’s joining of the World Trade Organisation accelerated this process to a great extent. As years passed Indian business houses have realized the value of IPR and are now using this as a way to maximize their business returns. This has led to some high profile IPR disputes especially in the field of pharmaceuticals which are being fought at various levels. The lecture will cover the evolution of the Indian IPR jurisprudence post 1947 with special reference to some landmark cases from the field of pharmaceuticals. It will also briefly discuss about the consolidation which is happening in the pharmaceutical industry since 2007 which has witnessed some mega mergers and acquisitions involving companies like Daiichi Sankyo- Ranbaxy, Abbott- Piramal, Sanofi Aventis – Shantha, Mylan- Matrix etc