On December 26, 2004, the Union government of India issued the Patents (Amendments) Ordinance, which will change the way the country does business on protecting the intellectual property rights of pharma companies, amongst others. Now, the ordinance is before the parliament, which has to do one of three things: amend it, pass it or reject it. So, will the ordinance become law? At risk is the armtwisting deadline set up by the World Trade Organization (wto), egged on by us corporate interests. They want the intellectual property of the large companies to be protected so that they can invest more in research and development and find more cures for new and life-threatening diseases. At risk also is the issue of the health of millions of Indians, who many believe may be at the losing end if the amendment allows for monopolies in the critical business of medicine to thrive. But what are product patents and how do they differ from the process patents that were followed earlier? Which life saving drugs could be on the list? How will the Indian pharmaceutical industry cope, as a major quantum of drugs they manufacture goes out of their hands? Will patients now have to pay twice, thrice or ten times of what they pay now for a drug? What about the poor who cannot pay? Will access to drugs be affected once generic equivalents of patented drugs stop being made locally? Are there any ways India could protect its citizens through the bewildering maze of patentspeak? The very way healthcare operates in this country is about to change. We need some answers, quickly. clifford polycarp investigates the imlpications of entering a new patent regime.