It took the anthrax scare in the United States and an offer of cheap drugs from India to highlight a problem familiar to people in developing countries - the denial of access to affordable drugs because of tough patent laws. "India's thriving drug industry has provided a good example of how drugs can be produced cheaply and profitably for local markets when unburdened by exorbitant licensing fees," said Mira Shiva, an expert on pharmaceutical drugs with the Voluntary Health Association of India (VHAI). Ironically, it was the United States that took India to the World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement tribunal - and in 1999 it compelled India to begin working on legislation to introduce product patents and allow foreign patent holders exclusive marketing rights (EMRs) in the meantime.