Question : It has been a decade since India amended the Indian Patents Act, 1970 to agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). Discuss the key issues involved in IPR reform in India.
- Most important amendments of the Indian Patents Act pertain to products patented for 20 years; this include pharmaceutical products
- Repeated attempts by the USTR have been made to counter alleged weakness in the patent regime of India
- China and India are among the 13 nations named on priority list for IPR weakness in diverse areas including publishing, pharma and IT
- India was not designated a priority watch country which means there is no recourse to penal action
- IPR policy needs to protect Indian strengths and be in tune with international standards
- An integrated policy with a balanced approach is needed calling for legislative changes to keep pace with tech and economic developments
- IPR challenges need to be met through political action and diplomacy
- Finance and a well functioning patent office are other key issues in reform of IPR regime in India
- Initially USTR has taken a hard stance with an out of cycle review but India’s commitments in recent years have won over this world bodyComprehensive and strong IPR reform is needed to bring India in line with the modern world Embracing the free market can open up India’s chances of a strong IP regime
Facts and Stats
- India will attract foreign investment and innovative technologies if it has a strong IP regime
- USTR also earlier refused to remove India from the 2014 priority watch list but recently praised India’s efforts to:
- Institutionalise engagement on IP issues
- Pursue specific work program
- Deepen cooperation with US on IP related issues
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