India’s parliament is about to take up a proposed law that could affect sick people the world over. India is the leading supplier of low-cost generic AIDS medicine. The country’s huge generic industry has been able to copy antiretrovirals and other medicines because India grants patents for the process of making drugs, rather than for the medicines themselves. But the Patents Bill that India is considering would change that.

Parliament must make sure that it protects India’s ability to make these crucial drugs. While the WTO requires its members to respect product patents, it allows them to put public health first. Unfortunately, the Bill would fail to do this. Indian lawmakers must reform the Bill to cut the red tape that can block compulsory licenses. They should also eliminate the loophole that prevents medicines from going to the poorest countries. India needs to allow challenges to patents before they take effect, and remove a provision that could allow a company to extend a patent by simply finding a new use for a drug. Lawmakers should refer the Bill to a committee for public testimony about possible reforms. Seldom has India considered anything of such global import. If it can preserve India’s ability to provide generic versions of these medicines, it will make a difference to millions of people at home and abroad. — The New York Times