Patent law by Jan 1: Sibal

India would have a new World Trade Organisation-compliant patent regime by January 1, 2005, apart from making India competitive, would also protect the public interest and foster economic growth, Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal announced on Tuesday.

"The patent law would be in place before January 1, 2005, and there should be no confusion from any quarters," Sibal told PTI after inaugurating a two-day conference on 'Changes in IPR Regime - Challenges and Opportunities', being organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research in New Delhi.

"We are just a few weeks away from the magic date of January 1, 2005 on which there will be a paradigm shift in the manner in which we consider the issue of protection of intellectual property rights," he said, adding the country needed progressive patent laws.

"We must so design it to give ourselves a world class IP regime. At the same time the government has a duty to protect the public interest," he said. "I believe that what we will put in place will be a model Act for other developing nations to emulate."

The minister refused to comment when asked whether the draft bill would be sent to a parliamentary standing committee for its evaluation as is being demanded by the Left parties.

Stating that the country had made several changes in the IP Act over the years, he said the Patents Act of 1970 should not be seen as a historic blunder as it was indispensable to promote the pharmaceutical industry.