India continues to be on US priority watch list on IPR | India News
Vietnam was identified as a priority foreign country, marking the first time in 13 years that a country has been listed in that category. Within the next 30 days, the USTR will decide whether to initiate an investigation against Vietnam based on the grounds identified in the report under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. Argentina has been removed from the priority watch list, while the European Union has been added to the watch list due to US concerns over geographical indications and the recent provisional agreement on the EU General Pharmaceutical Law.Apart from India and China, others on the priority list include Russia, Indonesia, Chile and Venezuela.In the case of India, USTR noted steps taken by the government to strengthen its IP regime, but also said there had been a “lack of progress” on several lingering concerns raised in earlier reports. “India remains one of the most challenging major economies in the world when it comes to IP protection and enforcement,” said the latest report released on Thursday.The main concern is the Indian patent law, which often questions applications filed by American companies, especially pharma majors, as well as the flexibility it gives the government. Longevity has been a pet concern in successive reports, and the latest one is no different.“Stakeholders also continue to raise concerns about whether India has an effective system in place to protect against unfair commercial use, as well as unauthorized disclosure, unpublished testing or other data generated to obtain marketing approval for pharmaceutical and agrochemical products,” the report said.It also criticized India’s high customs duties directed at IP-intensive products such as information and communication technology (ICT) products, solar energy equipment, medical devices, pharmaceuticals and capital goods. The Trump administration has repeatedly attacked India over tariffs.Other concerns were known — poor enforcement of copyrights, trademarks and high levels of counterfeiting
