US concerned over India as a trading partner

 The Dollar Business Bureau The United States listed India under its ‘Priority Watch List’ in an annual special review report on the state of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) protection and enforcement in US trading partners around the world. In its 2015 Special 301 Report, the office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) reported inadequacies in trade secret protection in China, India and other countries. Algeria, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Indonesia, Kuwait, Pakistan, Russia, Thailand, Ukraine and Venezuela are also included in the Priority Watch List. The report also termed India as the country that serves to illustrate the extent of economic harm arising from trademark counterfeiting to consumers, producers and the governments. Referring to a joint study by The International Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the report pointed out towards key sectors that are vulnerable to the counterfeiting, piracy and smuggling. The sectors, according to the study, include automotive parts, alcohol, computer hardware, mobile phones, packaged foods, personal goods, and tobacco products, the report said. It also raised concern over the challenges in the case of online copyright piracy in Brazil, China, India, and Russia, while also making a special case for the ‘trademark counterfeiting’ in China. The report also expressed concerns over the increasing incidence of trade secret misappropriation among its partner countries. The USTR report highlighted issues like the deterioration in IPR protection, enforcement and market access for those relying on IPR in a number of trading partners. The report talks about indigenous innovation policies that lead to disadvantages for the US rights holders in China. Stating that India started seeking a widespread stakeholder input regarding its development of a draft National IPR Policy in late 2014, the report said the USTR was committed towards encouraging engagement with the interested stakeholders.    

May 1, 2015 | 6:30 pm IST.