The US once again placed India on its ‘priority watch list’,
stating that New Delhi remains one of the world’s most challenging major
economies for the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights
(IPRs). The US Trade Representative’s (USTR) 2025 Special 301 report, an annual
review of the global state of IPR protection and enforcement, said that over
the past year, India has remained inconsistent in its progress on intellectual
property protection and enforcement. It said that although India has worked to
strengthen its IP regime, including raising public awareness about the
importance of the subject, and engagement with the US on IP issues has
increased, there continues to be a lack of progress on many long-standing IP
concerns.
The country had earlier stated that this report is a
unilateral measure taken by the US under their Trade Act, 1974 to create
pressure on countries to increase IPR protection beyond the TRIPS agreement.
Besides, India has maintained that its IPR regime is fully compliant with
global trade norms. The report comes in the backdrop of India-US negotiating a
bilateral trade agreement to boost two-way commerce to $500 billion by 2030.
The US is looking at bridging its trade deficit with India, which was $41.18 billion
in 2024-25, through this pact.
The report alleged that stakeholders continue to express
concerns over vagueness in the interpretation of the Indian Patents Act. It
said that India maintains high customs duties directed to IP-intensive products
such as information and communications technology products, solar energy
equipment, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and capital goods. While steps to
improve IP Office operations and procedures are to be commended, India’s
overall IP enforcement remains inadequate. It added that the US intends to
continue to engage with India on IP matters, including through the trade policy
forum’s intellectual property working group.
Source: Ace Equity
