Perception of the Indian pharmaceutical firms towards stronger product patent regime: a case study of North West region

摘要

India, being a signatory member of WTO, adopted product patents laws in 1995. Prior to that Indian pharmaceutical industry was being governed by the Indian Patent Act of 1970, which allowed only process patent laws. What are the effects of stronger patent laws on the Indian pharmaceutical firms? What is the perception of the Indian pharmaceutical firms towards stronger product patent regime? Whether they treat it as an opportunity or they perceive it as a threat. These are some of the issues the present paper tries to answer. With a sample of 100 firms, the study tries to cover the major areas in Northern India which has a combination of excise free zone and non-excise free zone. The overall reliability of the questionnaire has been .798. Statistical tools like chi-square tests and ANOVA are used to test the hypothesis. The results of the study highlight an improvement in the perception of Indian firms. They are ready for the challenges offered by the post-TRIPS era and are accepting the new opportunities offered by it.