After a 5 month long wait, the Patent Office at Chennai dispatched the information to an RTI application filed by me on November 01, 2011 asking for a photocopy of the entire case file of Novartis AG’s patent application on the anti-cancer drug, Glivec. The docket runs over 2500 pages. The complete patent specification filed on July 17, 1998 can be accessed from
here.
Other files include First Examiner’s comments on patent specification, documents relating to grant of Exclusive Marketing Rights (EMR), various forms and draft submissions before the Controller during the pre-grant stage. The Patent Office, however, has either carelessly omitted or has lost several other documents. There is no record of any objections filed by Cancer Patient Aid Association and Hetero Drugs (read ET report here). The documents provided merely records the fact of pre-grant opposition filed by M/s Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd, M/s Cipla Ltd and M/s Natco Pharma Ltd. The decision of the Controller has not been provided also.
Before filing this RTI, I looked up the Patent Office’s IPAIRSs system which enables online inspection of patent files. The links to the patent application weren’t functional. Anyway, the CPIO replied back to me on November 17, 2011 directing me make a request for information under the pre-existing Patent Rules, 2003 instead of the RTI Act. The reply stated:
… it is hereby informed that specific requests shall be made under the following provisions of the Patent Act, 1970 that are readily available to the public:
- Inspection of file u/r 74A of the Patent Rules, 1970
- To obtain Certified Copy u/r 133 of the Patent Rules, 2003
- To obtain photocopy u/r 74A of the Patent Rules, 2003
- To obtain information relating to patent u/s 153 of the Patents Act, 1970.
Since the above provisions already exist under the Patent Act, you are requested to make corresponding request as prescribed by the Patent Act along with prescribed fee, so as to obtain the desired information and copies of documents instead of filing an application under the RTI Act.
Under the RTI Act, the ‘notwithstanding’ clause in Section 22 gives an overriding effect to provisions of the Act. In effect, the CPIO is bound to process requests under the RTI Act irrespective of any additional special rule (pre-existing or otherwise) under any other enactment. I had earlier blogged on the illegality of denying information on grounds of pre-exiting special rules
here. In light of this, I filed an appeal before the First Appellate Authority and thankfully, the appeal was admitted without much delay and the CPIO was directed to provide the information requested.
The following documents are available for download:
If you want the original pre-grant order, here is a link to the same:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/416824/Patent-Office-Order-India-Glivec
Mr Sai Vinod,
I have read your appeal filed under RTI Act. May I ask you why did you not seek any other relief (of imposition of penalty under the Act). I know you would not have got any such penalty and I have not seen any order passed by FAA (Mr. Kardam) imposing any kind of penalty or so. Rather he has been passing the orders stating that he has spoken to the CPIO and has directed her (CPIO TM- Delhi) to give information. The classical thing is that the CPIO did not give information even inspite of the said order passed in appeal.
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Annon 10:47 AM,
The CPIO can be penalized only if he/she fails to provide information even after FAA’s order. In this case the CPIO merely misinterpreted the provisions.