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India rejects patent plea for 'immoral' sex toy | India rejects patent plea for 'immoral' sex toy |
(about 3 hours later) | |
India's patent office has rejected a plea by a Canadian company to patent a vibrator because sex toys violate "public order and morality". | India's patent office has rejected a plea by a Canadian company to patent a vibrator because sex toys violate "public order and morality". |
Invoking India's obscenity law, the patent office said the law "has never engaged positively with the notion of sexual pleasure". | Invoking India's obscenity law, the patent office said the law "has never engaged positively with the notion of sexual pleasure". |
The patent office said sex toys are considered to be obscene objects and are illegal in India. | The patent office said sex toys are considered to be obscene objects and are illegal in India. |
But a 2011 court ruling had said sex toys could not be considered obscene. | But a 2011 court ruling had said sex toys could not be considered obscene. |
An Ontario-based company called Standard Innovation Corporation had applied for a patent in India for a new vibrator, to prevent generic local copycats being sold in the market, according to Shamnad Basheer, a visiting professor of law at India's National Law School who is working on a book about public health law. | An Ontario-based company called Standard Innovation Corporation had applied for a patent in India for a new vibrator, to prevent generic local copycats being sold in the market, according to Shamnad Basheer, a visiting professor of law at India's National Law School who is working on a book about public health law. |
In April, the patents office rejected the plea, saying that sex toys lead "to obscenity and moral deprivation of individuals". | In April, the patents office rejected the plea, saying that sex toys lead "to obscenity and moral deprivation of individuals". |
"These are toys that are not considered useful or productive. Mostly these are considered to be morally degrading by the law," the office said. | "These are toys that are not considered useful or productive. Mostly these are considered to be morally degrading by the law," the office said. |
"The law views sex toys negatively and has never engaged positively with the notion of sexual pleasure". | "The law views sex toys negatively and has never engaged positively with the notion of sexual pleasure". |
The office also invoked the Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), a 155-year-old colonial-era law, which criminalises gay sex and unnatural intercourse, in refusing the patent. | The office also invoked the Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), a 155-year-old colonial-era law, which criminalises gay sex and unnatural intercourse, in refusing the patent. |
An appeal to strike down provisions of the law is currently pending before the Supreme Court. | An appeal to strike down provisions of the law is currently pending before the Supreme Court. |
"Why should the patents office handle moral decisions? Officials trained in technical science are not supposed to decide whether an invention is moral or immoral," Prof Basheer told the BBC. | "Why should the patents office handle moral decisions? Officials trained in technical science are not supposed to decide whether an invention is moral or immoral," Prof Basheer told the BBC. |
Sex toys are openly sold online, and in a thriving black market in India. | Sex toys are openly sold online, and in a thriving black market in India. |
A survey by an online store selling sex toys in India last year found that 62% of the buyers of sex toys in India were men, while the remaining 38% were women. |
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