US puts India on watch list over IP rights enforcement, violations
The US has placed India on its 'Priority Watch List', citing concerns over India's intellectual property rights (IPR) protection and enforcement. The United States Trade Representative (USTR), in its latest report, dubbed India "one of the most challenging major economies when it comes to the protection and enforcement of intellectual property (IP)".According to the USTR's 2025 Special 301 Report, India's progress in safeguarding intellectual property rights has been uneven over the past year, with inconsistencies in protection and enforcement.advertisementThe report even called India the world's most "challenging major economies" when it comes to IP enforcement.
Despite India's efforts to enhance its intellectual property framework, including promoting public awareness about its significance and stepping up engagement with the US on intellectual property (IP) matters, it still hasn't made sufficient progress on several long-standing IP issues, according to the report.The Special 301 Report is a yearly assessment by the US of intellectual property protection practices in other countries. It evaluates over 100 trading partners and identifies those that don't meet US standards for protecting intellectual property rights.INDIA'S IP PROTECTION PROGRESS INCONSISTENT: SPECIAL 301 REPORTThe report discussed India's IP protection and enforcement."India remains one of the world's most challenging major economies with respect to protection and enforcement of IP," the report, which was released on Tuesday, stated.advertisementPatent issues continue to be of particular concern in India. Among other concerns, the potential threat of patent revocations and the procedural and discretionary invocation of patentability criteria under the Indian Patents Act impact companies across different sectors, it added.India had earlier stated that this report is a unilateral measure taken by the US under their Trade Act, 1974, to create pressure on countries to increase IPR protection beyond the TRIPS agreement. Besides, India has maintained that its IPR regime is fully compliant with global trade norms, news agency PTI reported.Notably, the report comes as India and the US are negotiating a bilateral trade agreement after US President Donald Trump announced tariffs on imports. Subsequently, Trump paused the tariffs for 90 days.India and the US are currently negotiating a bilateral trade deal aimed at increasing two-way trade to $500 billion by 2030, with the report emerging in this context. The pact is also expected to help the US reduce its trade deficit with India, which stood at $41.18 billion in 2024–25.A trade expert said India has a well-established legislative, administrative, and judicial framework to safeguard IPR that meets its obligations under the WTO's Agreement on Trade-Related IPRs (TRIPS), PTI reported.PATENT ISSUES REMAINS A KEY CONCERN IN INDIA: REPORTadvertisement"Among other concerns, the potential threat of patent revocations and the procedural and discretionary invocation of patentability criteria under the Indian Patents Act impact companies across different sectors. Moreover, patent applicants generally continue to confront long waiting periods to receive patent grants and excessive reporting requirements," the report said.Stakeholders continued to express concerns over vagueness in the interpretation of the Indian Patents Act, it alleged.
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