INTA 2014: Election result positive for IP in India

Victory for the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Indian general election, as predicted by the latest exit polls, should be good for the country's IP framework, Indian lawyers say.

The polls suggest the BJP could win twice as many seats as the ruling Congress Party, making it likely that the BJP's Narendra Modi will be the next prime minister, and changes to the much-criticised Indian IP structure could follow.

“Indian IP law could change for the better,” Anish Dayal, counsel at ALG India, told WIPR on the fringes of the INTA annual conference in Hong Kong.

IP registrations could be speeded up by the hiring of more staff, while the enforcement of rights could be improved by the introduction of specific IP codes, although these changes are not likely to be introduced quickly. Specialist IP courts could also be introduced.

“That will certainly be changed; there will be a lot of positive changes,” Himanshu Sharma, an advocate at Singh & Associates, told WIPR.

“People thought there might be negative changes but I think the result will be positive, although it will take time,” he added, noting that the BJP, often described as the Hindu nationalist party, is now portraying itself as a secular party.

Just last month, the US government said it has “growing concerns” about the environment and enforcement of IP in India but decided against imposing the strongest possible sanction on the country.

In its annual Special 301 report, which assesses US trading partners' efforts to protect and enforce IP, the US Trade Representative kept India on its Priority Watch List, although it decided against naming it as the “priority foreign country”.

The INTA meeting continues until tomorrow, May 14.