And if a patent is valid, the branded producer has a right to deny the generic drug maker access to the market until that patent expires.

FORBES: The Times Reproduces The FTC's Flawed Position On Drug Patent Settlements

There were concerns that, if granted, a patent could threaten access to cheap generic versions of life-saving drugs in poorer countries.

BBC: Novartis India case: Campaigners hail patent rejection

Minnesota lawyer and businessman Scott Hillstrom started HealthStore in 1997 after traveling through Kenya and noticing that one of the big problems there was lack of reliable access to basic generic drugs.

FORBES: Drug Delivery

So the third basket is -- in the area of pharmaceuticals -- essentially saying the Medicare and Medicaid should have access to things like generic biologic drugs.

WHITEHOUSE: Press Briefing on the President's Budget

She complained that nurses were having to log-off from generic accounts through which they could access health records, in order to access personal accounts through which they apply for leave or register overtime.

BBC: New Guernsey IT system leaves some nurses underpaid

They are tied to greater needs such as the need for a global drug patent database to facilitate access to safe, cheap generic drugs that would help to undercut the black market.

FORBES: The Crisis of Counterfeits and Transparency in Developing World Medicine

Poor countries argue that this is a nonsense, since better access to vaccines through greater generic supply would actually reduce their need for expensive treatments and should be a priority, not an exclusion.

ECONOMIST: Patently troublesome

Gopal Dabade of All India Drug Action Network, an India-based non-profit group that works for access to essential medicines, said the ruling will allow Indian generic manufacturers to continue to supply Indians and consumers in other developing countries with cheap medicines.

WSJ: Novartis Loses Glivec Patent Battle in India

However, there have been concerns that if firms are granted patents for updated versions of their drugs, it may not only deny access to cheaper medicines to poor people, but also hurt the makers of generic drugs.

BBC: Novartis: India rejects patent plea for cancer drug Glivec