Centre not in favour of exercising rights under the Patents Act at this stage In Re Distribution of Essential Supplies and Services During Pandemic, the Centre has filed an affidavit before the Supreme Court, in which it has stated that any exercise of its statutory powers under the Patents Act read with the TRIPS Agreement and Doha Declaration can only be counter-productive at this stage, as the central government is currently actively involved in diplomatic talks to find the best solution for India; any mention of statutory powers for drugs or vaccines, it argued, would have “serious, severe and unintended adverse consequences.” This submission by the Centre came in light of the recent queries made by the Supreme Court with respect to compulsory licensing and government authorization under Sections 92 and 100 of the Patents Act to enable manufacture of generic drugs such as Remdesivir, Tolicizumab etc. The Central Government also submitted that since the primary concern currently is the availability of raw materials and essential inputs, any additional licenses may not result in increased production. Reddy & Reddy Law Firm has a forte in handling matters related to Intellectual Property Rights. They have an experienced team of lawyers ready to assist in all your disputes.