The U.S. Trade Representative released its 2014 Special 301 Report yesterday, according to which India remains on the Priority Watch List. CII is relieved that despite calls for a downgrade from certain organizations, the report did not designate India as a "priority foreign country," the worst classification for countries in protection of Intellectual Property Rights. CII commends this move as a sign of better understanding between the two countries. However, the decision to initiate an Out-of-Cycle Review (OCR) to assess India’s progress in IPR in fall 2014 is a concerning development. CII strongly recommends that all outstanding issues, including differences on IPR, be resolved through dialogue and engagement, which would be in the spirit of the bilateral strategic partnership that has been painstakingly forged over the years by both countries. 

In recent years, India has taken many steps to strengthen its innovation-enabling environment in keeping with its national priorities, including declaring 2010-20 as the “Decade of Innovation”. It is heartening to see some acknowledgement from the US of India’s efforts in this area. Regarding the concerns over Section 3 (d) of India’s Patents Act, CII maintains that India’s patent laws are fully TRIPS compatible and in fact, provide a clear definition of patentability criteria – including explicitly defined exclusions based on inventiveness. India has merely made use of the flexibilities accorded by the WTO agreement. While the USTR assessment goes against India Supreme Court’s interpretation, it may be noted that India’s judiciary is fiercely independent, similar to that in the U.S.   

CII has collaborated with numerous Indian, US and international agencies, including the US Patent Trade Office (USPTO) to conduct at least 40 capacity building programs and share global best practices in IPR protection and enforcement, as part of anti-counterfeit and anti-piracy initiatives. In a first initiative of its kind, CII has collaborated with the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises to set up Intellectual Property Facilitation Centers in a few states in India to promote IP culture among corporations through comprehensive awareness and training. However, CII believes much more needs to be done. 

“With a new political dispensation due to take center-stage in India in just a couple of weeks, we hope to see stronger collaboration between India and the US on a wide range of issues, including IPR” said Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII. “We have a real window of opportunity to refocus positively, address each other’s concerns and shape the future business climate in both countries,” he added. 

The upcoming India-US Technology Summit that CII is organizing in November 2014 along with the Department of Science and Technology of the Government of India will provide an opportunity for such collaborative dialogue and concrete engagement between government and industry. “It is very opportune that the US will be our partner country for the Summit as we aim to strengthen cooperation between the two countries through constructive interactions. Robust participation from both sides will be critical to the success of this effort – we invite substantial representation from US government and industry-led delegations to be a part of this endeavor.” Mr. Banerjee said.