Priority Watch List...

INDIA

Indian intellectual property protection continues to be weak. There are some tenuous first signs that the situation may be changing, as witnessed by the passage of long-awaited patent law amendments in May 2002. However, this law still appears to contain several TRIPS inconsistencies. In addition, piracy of copyrighted works remains a problem, particularly popular fiction works and certain textbooks, and protection of foreign trademarks remains difficult. India should adopt immediately amendments to its copyright law fully and correctly implementing the WIPO Internet Treaties and correcting TRIPS deficiencies in its protection of computer software. Counterfeiting is rife in the Indian marketplace, for example in the auto, pharmaceutical, consumer goods and apparel industries. Particularly troubling are extensive public health and safety risks posed by counterfeit medicines and auto parts. To make matters worse, a major problem is India’s export of counterfeit goods to the Middle East, southern Africa and Europe. While the United States is encouraged by the Indian Government’s recent statements, especially concerning the implementation of data exclusivity regulations, action has yet to be been taken. We urge the Indian Government to issue data protection regulations that reflect the internationally recognized standard of protection for undisclosed test data and to ratify and implement the two WIPO Internet Treaties.