India remains among challenging economies in IP protection, enforcement: US

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.

India along with Argentina, Chile, China, Indonesia, Russia and Venezuela have been placed on the 2024 Special 301 Report on the adequacy and effectiveness of US trading partners' protection and enforcement of intellectual property (IP) rights released by the US Trade Representative.

These countries will be the subject of particularly intense bilateral engagement during the coming year, USTR said.

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 there has been progress under the US-India Trade Policy Forum in addressing certain issues with trademark infringement investigations and pre-grant opposition proceedings, numerous long-standing concerns remain, the USTR report said.

These include inadequate IP enforcement, including high rates of online piracy, an extensive trademark opposition backlog, and insufficient legal means to protect trade secrets. Among other things, 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.

"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.

USTR said over the past year, India has remained inconsistent in its progress on intellectual property (IP) protection and enforcement.
 

"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.

"Moreover, patent applicants continue to confront long waiting periods to receive patent grants and excessive reporting requirements. 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.