[AnIndianFromIndia]

Correction:
India does not forbid recognising patents.What it objects to is the patenting of molecules.Patenting of manufacturing processes is supported by it,but not end-use molecules.Imagine somone patenting petrol,or even water,for that matter.

[Lael]

but not end-use molecules

Pharmaceuticals ARE end use molecules. Penicillin, etc are specifically exempted from Patent Protection for Policy reasons...a ban that dates back to the 1948-1950 era.

Nehru thought it "obscene" that life saving Medicines, instead of being considered the inheritance of all humanity, be, by law, the property of the discoverer or his employer.

By the way, I'm not offended by that attitude...it just stands as an example of one nation's rightful exercise of it's Sovereignty with regards to important Public Policy questions.