Reflections on the one-year anniversary of India’s IPR policy

Editorial Note: May 13, 2017 marks the first anniversary of India’s National IP Policy. What follows is a statement by Patrick Kilbride, Vice President of international intellectual property for the Global Intellectual Property Center (GIPC) at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

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As we reflect on the one-year anniversary of India’s IPR policy, it is fitting that Indian government leaders are focused on job creation. Strong IP standards are a key driver of economic growth and should be a fo undational component of the government’s plans for bringing high-value jobs to India. In the U.S. Chamber’s International IP Index comparison of 45 economies, countries that invest in robust IP systems are nearly 50 percent more attractive to foreign investors, have nearly double the workforce concentrated in knowledge-intensive sectors, and are almost 70 percent more likely to have a supportive business climate.” The National IPR Policy was a good first step. Now, we look to the Government of India to follow through on goals such as educating entrepreneurs about IP rights, streamlining IP registration processes, and facilitating IP licensing arrangements. These are all critical if Indian innovators and creators are to invest their time, money, and passion to bring new ideas to market on a scale to reach all Indians. Ultimately, though, India will be unable to take full advantage of the transformative benefits of a strong IP system unless and until it addresses gaps in its IP laws and regulations. Among other things, we will continue to call for broad patent eligibility, including for computer-related inventions (CRI) and new forms and uses of bio-pharmaceutical products (Section 3(d) of the Patent Act); regulatory data protection;modernization of copyright laws, and appropriate civil and criminal remedies for IP infringement to provide a deterrent-level of enforcement.

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