INDIAN researchers and inventors can look for help from the Internet. They now have access to original patent documents on the Network instead of just abstracts. A new service by Derwent, a uk company, makes available such information on the Network which will help Indian researchers study a us patent in all its details.

For instance, a few months ago, the University of Mississippi Medical Centre, us, had applied for a patent for haldi (turmeric) arguing that it was not used in India for curing external wounds. The new service would help users to study every detail of such claims on the Internet. The company hopes to introduce patent documents of other countries as well on the Internet. Such a development would immensely benefit India, whose patent market is expected to grow from about 3,500 patent applications in 1993-94 to about 10,000-12,000 this year. Meanwhile, the Union government is planning to introduce a Plant Varieties' Protection Bill in the winter session of the Parliament which seeks to patent indigenous crop varieties and the production of their seeds.