Novartis Denied Patent for Gleevec

PREFACE

Patents are available only for inventions that are novel, non-obvious as well as useful. Therefore, where novelty is a bedrock concept of all patent systems, nonobviousness is the ultimate condition of patentability but first of all an invention i.e. a product of investigation and experiment must qualify as an invention. Section 3 of the Patents Act 1970 as amended by Patents (Amendment) Act 2005, in a very succinct way provides for what are not inventions. Clause (d) disqualifies a new form of a known substance which does not result in the enhancement of the known efficacy, as an invention. The Explanation further elaborates that salts, esters, ethers, polymorphs, metabolites, pure form, particle size, isomers, mixtures of isomers, complexes, combinations and other derivatives of the known substances are to be considered the same unless they differ significantly in properties with regard to efficacy.