The criminal punishment for patent offenders are mentioned in paragraph 260 of the Secretariat Report. It is provided that statements as to the extent to which a patented invention has been sold on a commercial scale in India shall be furnished and that any person who refuses or fails to furnish a statement shall be punishable with a fine which may reach ten lakh rupees. Both of them are stipulated in Indian patent act articles 146 and 122, respectively. Please describe what the interests are which are aimed to be protected by imposing a punishment against a breach of administrative obligation.
Reply: The general principles of working of patented inventions are given in Section 83 of the Patents Act and, for fulfilment of these objectives, it is imperative that patented inventions are worked in India. Section 146 and Section 122 of the Act enable effective implementation of the general principles as the patented inventions which are not worked in India can be made available to the third party through compulsory license under certain terms and conditions.
