India remains "one of the world's most challenging" major economies with respect to the protection and enforcement of intellectual property (IP), the Biden Administration said on Thursday as it placed the country on the Priority Watch List on its 2024 Special 301 Report.
Moreover, as happens in other countries, such as Argentina, Chile, China, Indonesia, Russia, and Venezuela, India too has found itself included in the 2024 Special 301 Report concerning the adequacy and effectiveness of US trading partners' protection and enforcement of IP rights published by the US Trade Representative.
These countries will be the subject of particularly intense bilateral engagement during the coming year, according to USTR.
USTR removed the Dominican Republic from the Watch List this year. The "Special 301" Report is an annual review of the global state of IP protection and enforcement.
While progress has been made under the US-India Trade Policy Forum in addressing certain issues of trademark infringement investigations and pre-grant opposition proceedings, the numerous long-standing concerns remain, the USTR report said.
Among other things, the group found that India still needs to fully implement the WIPO Internet Treaties and to ensure that copyright statutory licenses do not extend to interactive transmissions, USTR said. Others include inadequate IP enforcement, including high rates of online piracy, an extensive trademark opposition backlog, and insufficient legal means to protect trade secrets.
"Many of the issues highlighted in the Special 301 Report demand collaborative efforts from our allies and partners,” said US Trade Representative Katherine Tai.
"Many of my counterparts share the goal of making sure that trade supports the interests of our people, and one of the most dangerous types of IP violations involves counterfeit goods that pose health and safety risks,” she said.
"In addition, the Biden-Harris Administration has continued its policy of declining to call out countries for exercising TRIPS flexibilities, including with respect to compulsory licenses, in a manner consistent with TRIPS obligations,” Tai said.
According to USTR, India's progress in protecting and enforcing intellectual property (IP) has been uneven during the past year.
"Although India has worked to strengthen its IP regime, including raising public awareness about the importance of IP, and engagement with the United States on IP issues has increased, there continues to be a lack of progress on many long-standing IP concerns raised in prior Special 301 Reports. India remains one of the world's most challenging major economies with respect to protection and enforcement of IP,” it said.
"Patent issues continue to be of particular concern in India. Among other concerns, the potential threat of patent revocations and the procedural and discretionary invocation of patentability criteria under the Indian Patents Act impact companies across different sectors,” said the report.
Also, lengthy waiting times for patent approvals and onerous reporting requirements are still issues that face patent applicants. Stakeholders continue to express concerns over vagueness in the interpretation of the Indian Patents Act.
'Despite India’s justifications of limiting IP protections as a way to promote access to technologies, India maintains high customs duties directed to IP-intensive products such as information and communications technology (ICT) products, solar energy equipment, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and capital goods,” said the report.
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