US waiting to hear PM Narendra Modi's stand on protection of IPR

NEW DELHI: The US industry will wait to hear the Narendra Modi government’s stand on protection of Intellectual Property Rights when the Indian prime minister meets business leaders in New York and Silicon Valley this week.

Modi’s interactions will provide him a better understanding of the importance of IPR, US government officials said, hoping India would appreciate the concerns of US enterprises. More than one-third of the US economy is based on IP-intensive industries.

The US has urged successive Indian governments to create a regime that will protect the intellectual property rights of its enterprises that invest in India, especially pharmaceutical companies. US officials pointed out that they prefer a predictable IPR regime for its innovators.

The US suggests that Delhi has to address deficiencies in the Indian Copyright Act to combat online piracy and the illegal recording of motion pictures.

The officials said that while the US recognised India’s right to exercise its right to use compulsory licenses, they noted that such a step should be taken only in extreme circumstances.

Compulsory licensing is when a government allows someone else to produce a patented product or process such as a drug without the consent of the patent owner.

Such flexibility on patent protection is included in the World Trade Organization’s agreement on intellectual property — the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement.

However, a key business chamber in India did not agree with the US position on IPR.

"CII is aware of the observations of some US agencies on the Indian IPR system and has contested in past the criticism of these agencies," Pawan Goenka, Chairman of the CII National Committee on Intellectual Property, told ET.

An impression is being created that India is not TRIPS-compatible and this comes in different shades - sometimes in respect of IPR laws, IP administration and practices.

The Confederation of Indian Industry has always maintained that Indian IPR laws are TRIPS-compatible and does not see any need to revisit the section on compulsory licensing.

"It is a reasonable provision and that is why many other countries are contemplating introducing similar provisions in their laws. In regard to compulsory licensing, we could think of making the decision-making process more broad-based by including some experts and secondly, the licensee’s data in making the drug, based on the licensed patent, accessible and affordable may be put in public domain from time to time," Goenka said.