The generic pharmaceutical industry went to court Tuesday to challenge new federal regulations, which it says will block its ability to produce cheaper drugs and cost consumers millions of dollars.

The Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association said its members began legal action in the Federal Court of Canada because they feel the new drug patent rules give brand-name drug makers an unfair competitive advantage.

The new rules, introduced in mid-October, give brand-name drug companies an eight-year ban on generic competition.

"The decision to grant this multimillion dollar gift to Big Pharma is not only unnecessary and costly to taxpayers, provincial governments and consumers, it oversteps Canada's trade obligations and, therefore, the regulatory powers sanctioned by Canadians' elected representatives in the House of Commons," Jim Keon, the president of the CGPA, said in a news release.

Keon alleged the rules were created to appease brand-name drug companies that had been lobbying to secure exclusivity in the market.

The brand-name drug companies argue that the protections are necessary to protect their market shares and profit margins, to provide incentives for the development of new drugs and to comply with regulations under the North American Free Trade Agreement.

But Keon said the amendments excessively exceed the country's trade obligations under NAFTA.

The association also estimates that, if a similar ban had been in effect for the past five years, consumers would have had to pay about $600 million more in drug costs.