India and Brazil Sought WTO Intervention against EU Custom Rules

On 12 May 2010, India and Brazil approached World trade Organisation (WTO) against Netherlands and European Union when European Union confiscated Indian generic drugs. These generic drugs were being exported to Brazil and when the ship carrying Dr.Reddy’s generic drug Losartan reached Rotterdam a sea port of Netherland- a member country of European Union- their custom authorities confiscated the drugs. When India protested against this action, EU claimed that it seized the medicine to stop the trade of counterfeit medicines.

• Since the year 2008, at least 18 Indian shipments of generic drugs have been seized en-route at European ports based on patent infringement.
• Besides Netherland, Germany and France have seized and confiscated Indian generic drugs.
• Companies like Sanofi-Aventis SA, Novartis AG and Eli Lilly and co had requested custom authorities at European ports several times to confiscate generic drugs from India.
• A generic drug is defined as a drug, which is produced and distributed without patent protection. Generic drugs are called generics in short.
• The present European Union custom rules allow customs authorities
• to seize any goods which are suspected of infringing intellectual property rights.
• Under Intellectual Property Right or law owners are given exclusive rights
• on a variety of intangible assets such as musical, literary and artistic works,
• discoveries and inventions. Intellectual property rights include copyrights,
• trademarks, patents, industrial design rights and trade secrets.