The 2024 Special 301 Report issued by the US administration has once again placed India on the Priority Watch List, labelling it as one of the most challenging major economies in terms of intellectual property (IP) protection and enforcement.
India continues to face several persistent issues including poor IP enforcement, a high incidence of online piracy, a significant backlog in trademark opposition cases, and inadequate mechanisms for safeguarding trade secrets.
Additionally, India is yet to fully implement the WIPO Internet Treaties and address concerns over copyright statutory licenses that currently include interactive transmissions, as per the United States Trade Representative (USTR). While there have been some improvements noted under the US-India Trade Policy Forum concerning trademark infringement probes and pre-grant opposition processes, many long-standing issues persist, the Business Standard noted.
As reported by THE WIRE, the USTR has indicated that countries listed in the 2024 Special 301 Report for their lack of adequacy and effectiveness in protecting and enforcing IP rights including India, along with Argentina, Chile, China, Indonesia, Russia, and Venezuela.
