a world Trade Organization ( wto ) dispute-settlement panel has ruled that India has violated an agreement on patents and that the country needs to bring its rules in line with international standards. The panel's ruling resulted from a complaint by the us , in July 1996, that India had failed to provide a mechanism to adequately protect pharmaceutical and agricultural chemical product patents. As a developing country, India was allowed a transition period until the year 2005 to conform to this requirement. But in the interim period, India like other developing countries, was obligated under wto rules to provide a means by which patent applications for pharmaceutical and agricultural chemical products can be filed. The wto panel ruled that India failed to set up a mechanism that adequately preserves novelty and priority, in respect of applications for product patents in respect of pharmaceutical and agricultural chemical inventions, during the transition.