The government of Switzerland would not be taking up the Novartis allegation of non-compatibility of Indian patent law with Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement to the dispute settlement board of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). "The Swiss government never gets involved in any judicial pronouncements of other countries. We accept any case which is settled in India. It is a normal litigation in which one party happens to be a company while other is a country," said Doris Leuthard, Federal Councilor, Department of Economic Affairs of the Swiss Confederation here today.Leuthard was in Delhi to sign an MoU on co-operation in international property rights with India. "We must have a reliable TRIPS system, and the one in India is good enough."The Madras High Court on Monday had rejected a Novartis petition that questioned the constitution validity of Section 3(D) of the Indian Patents Act that restricts patenting of minor improvements of known molecules. In its judgement, the court had advised Novartis to approach the dispute settlement forum of WTO on TRIPS compliance for which the Swiss company would have had to approach its government. Leuthard also said that the impact of the verdict on prospective Swiss investors in India remained to be seen. "I do not know how Swiss companies will react to it. May be, they will have a closer look at the verdict. Some of them may find that investing in India may not be attractive," she said. According to Commerce Minister Kamal Nath, the Indian Patents Law is compatible with TRIPS and there have been no complaints against it in the international forum. "It has been two years since the Indian Patents Act has been passed, and no country has filed any complaint in the WTO. This Act is compliant with TRIPS," Nath, who was present on the occasion, said.The MoU between India and Switzerland is expected to lead to the formation of a committee, which will facilitate exchange of experience by both the countries on creating awareness as well as protection of traditional knowledge.
