USTR India: USTR places India on priority watch list, again

The US Commerce Consultant (USTR) once more positioned India on the ‘Precedence Watch Record’ together with China, Russia and 4 others, for lack of enough mental property rights (IPR) safety and enforcement.

In its Annual Particular 301 Report that identifies commerce obstacles to American firms resulting from IP legal guidelines of different nations, the USTR mentioned that India remained some of the difficult economies for IP enforcement and safety and the nation’s general IP enforcement was insufficient.

“India stays one of many world’s most difficult main economies with respect to safety and enforcement of IP,” it mentioned within the 2022 report.

Sure knowledge governance regimes whether or not proposed or carried out additionally increase considerations for mental property safety normally and commerce secret safety of proprietary knowledge specifically, it highlighted.

“India’s Private Information Safety Invoice and draft Non-Private Information Governance Framework are examples of initiatives that doubtlessly threaten innovation and financial progress,” USTR mentioned within the report.

Whereas India’s accession to the World Mental Property Group (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty and WIPO Copyright Treaty, collectively often known as the WIPO Web Treaties, in 2018 and the Good Settlement in 2019 had been constructive step, the USTR mentioned the potential risk of patent revocations, lack of presumption of patent validity and slim patentability standards underneath the Indian Patents Act affect firms throughout totally different sectors.

The USTR mentioned regardless of India’s justifications of limiting IP protections as a solution to promote entry to applied sciences, India maintains excessive customs duties on IP-intensive merchandise resembling medical gadgets, prescribed drugs, data and communications expertise merchandise, photo voltaic vitality tools and capital items.

On the multilateral entrance, the USTR mentioned that the Joe Biden Administration helps a waiver of mental property protections for Covid-19 vaccines underneath the WTO Settlement on Commerce-Associated Points of Mental Property Rights (TRIPS Settlement), however the broader establishment has not been in a position to attain consensus on an settlement to take action.