1 October 2011Copyright

WIPR's India focus: steady progress, but plenty still to do

As a member of the so-called BRIC group, India is growing in influence. But for international and domestic companies, further clarity is required on everything from enforcement systems for IP rights, the security of pharmaceutical brands in the country, and even the leadership of the patent office.

On that last point, the widely respected head of the Indian patent office, PH Kurian, resigned earlier this year, half-way through his five-year term. According to Jatin Trivedi, partner at YJ Trivedi & Co, Kurian’s resignation “came as a shock” to the IP community in India. “We hope Kurian’s departure from the IP office, before completing functional reforms, will not put an end to the transparency drive that was an integral part of the IP office during his tenure,” Trivedi says.

For the most part, India has a well-established statutory, administrative and judicial framework for intellectual property issues. But many have called for a more specialised system including courts and judges dedicated wholly to IP, in order to give businesses further confidence that their IP will be robustly protected.

"FOR INTERNATIONAL COMPANIES, THERE ARE GOOD OPPORTUNITES TO EXPAND IN INDIA, ESPECIALLY THROUGH BRAND LICENSING AND CO-OPERATION WITH LOCAL COMPANIES."

On the more positive side, it seems that a longrunning debate about the rights to lyricists and composers to royalties from radio plays of particular recording is nearly over. A Bombay High Court decision looks to have settled the matter in favour of radio stations that didn’t want to pay multiple royalties for playing music on the radio. That said, the decision is on appeal. And for international companies, there are good opportunities to expand in India, especially through brand licensing and co-operation with local companies.

Add to that possible movement on utility model protection, and India looks set to provide an increasingly secure environment for intellectual property.

But there is more to do. Trivedi calls for the “strengthening of IP jurisprudence through various landmark High Court judgments in the field of IPR, with international ramifications.” Simultaneously, he says, the further recognition of IP rights through High Court judgments would be a welcome development.

WIPR’s India focus is designed to answer some of the key questions about IP in India. We’d welcome your feedback.

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