India's Supreme Court determined that drug patents that have expired may not be renewed by simple tweaking of the drug. Drug companies have long utilized the concept of "Evergreening," the practice of tweaking a drug formula just enough to say it should be considered a brand new drug--thus extended it's patent rights another 20 years. The Indian Supreme Court said, not so. Not if it isn't warranted. The primary drug being discussed in this case is the Swiss Company, Novartis' cancer treatment drug, Gleevac (Glivac in the US). The decision sets a dramatic precidence for all manner of drugs, including those HIV/AIDS treatments, that are the life source of millions in developing countries. It opens up the continued use (and further use) generics.

Intellectual property rights arguments such as these are at the heart of many of the Free Trade Agreement discussions that the US is engaged in in with Asian-Pacific and Central-South American countries. According to the Economic Times, Australia, the EU, and Canada may follow India's lead.

On September 3, 2012, the President of the Republic of Indonesia enacted a Presidential Decree in which President Yudhoyono stated that "the government would procure generic equivalents of the international patent for sever HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis B drugs." - Edward Low of HealthGap.