India continues to be on US priority watch list on IPR

NEW DELHI: USTR has retained India on its Special 301 priority watch list, along with five other countries including China, and said it will engage with New Delhi, including through Bilateral Trade Agreement negotiations. The annual report said India remained “inconsistent in its progress” on protection and enforcement of intellectual property (IP).

Vietnam was identified as a Priority Foreign Country, marking the first time in 13 years that a country is listed in that category. Over the next 30 days, USTR will decide whether to initiate an investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 against Vietnam based on the grounds identified in the report. Argentina has moved out of the priority watch list, while the European Union has been added to the watch list due to US concerns over geographical indications and the recent provisional agreement on the EU General Pharmaceutical Legislation.

Apart from India and China, others on the priority watch list included Russia, Indonesia, Chile and Venezuela.

In the case of India, the USTR noted steps taken by govt to strengthen its IP regime, but also said that there was a “a lack of progress” on several long-standing concerns raised in earlier reports. “India remains one of the world’s most challenging major economies with respect to the protection and enforcement of IP,” the latest report released Thursday said.

The chief concern is over the Indian Patents Act, which often questions applications filed by American companies, especially pharma majors, as well as the flexibility it allows govt. Long pendency has been a pet peeve in successive reports, and the latest one is no different.

“Stakeholders also continue to raise concerns as to whether India has an effective system for protecting against the unfair commercial use, as well as unauthorised disclosure, of undisclosed test or other data generated to obtain marketing approval for pharmaceutical and agricultural chemical products,” the report said.

It was also critical of India’s 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. The Trump administration has repeatedly attacked India on tariffs.

The other concerns were familiar — weak enforcement of copyrights, trademarks & high levels of counterfeiting.