In long drawn out battle that has seen the world largest drug company Pfizer battle with Chinese bureacracy, a law court in Beijing has pronounced in favour of the firm and has confirmed its patent for the erectile dysfunction medication Viagra. Previously the Chinese Patent Review panel had disputed Pfizer claim to the sildenafil patent and had allowed over 10 different Chinese drug companies the right to make the active compound in Viagra namely sildenafil citrate.

The case will be a big boost for Pfizer and should see sales of the Viagra drug in the world's moist populous nation start to take off. Pfizer has had huge problems in China with the sales of fake and imitation Viagra pills on the market.The Chinese Intellectual Property Office had no immediate comment to make after the legal ruling.

The case is important from a legal and a commercial point of view and could open up more legal actions against other counterfeiters of drugs. China has been known for turning a blind eye to international copyright infringement and tended to support local companies however the situation is changing and China needs to clamp down on these companies if it is to be taken seriously in the international market place and if it wants to encourage foreign investment.

The situation is so bad  that it has got to the point were the majority of the Viagra sold in China is fake and much of it uses the word Viagra in the labelling. Viagra has been sold in China since the year 2000 and the counterfeiters were quick to dominate the market in all the big cities.

The Chinese market for Viagra could be the world biggest and the Chinese are very open to the idea of using medicines to help sexual stamina. The Chinese have been producing traditional aprodisiacs for hundreds of years but not one of them lives up to the Viagra promise. The test for the authorities now is whether the enforcement of the legal ruling will be carried out efficiently.