India’s lower house of parliament passed a patents bill on Tuesday making it illegal to copy patented drugs, a practice that has made cheaper medicines available in India and abroad.Lawmakers of the Congress party-led ruling alliance and their communist allies passed the bill with a voice vote, a key step to fulfilling India’s WTO commitments.The bill, which will become law once it is approved by the upper house, also covers other products such as chemicals, mobile phones and computers.The bill was approved after the government conceded demands from its communist allies and included some of the amendments suggested by them which included allowing export of pharmaceutical products to least developed countries.
