IP protection: India among most challenging economies, says USTR

The USTR in the India section of the report said that over the past year, India has remained inconsistent in its progress on IP protection and enforcement

India remains one of the most challenging major economies with respect to protection and enforcement of intellectual property, the office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in a report as it decided to retain New Delhi on the Priority Watch List.

In its 2022 Special 301 Report, the USTR designated seven countries in the Priority Watch List. These are Argentina, Chile, China, India, Indonesia, Russia and Venezuela.

The review of Ukraine has been suspended due to Russia’s premeditated and unprovoked invasion of the country, the USTR said.

The USTR in the India section of the report said that over the past year, India has remained inconsistent in its progress on IP protection and enforcement.

While India made meaningful progress to promote IP protection and enforcement in some areas over the past year, it failed to resolve recent and long-standing challenges and it created new concerns for right holders, the report said.

"India remains one of the world’s most challenging major economies with respect to protection and enforcement of IP," it said.

The report further said India’s accession to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty and WIPO Copyright Treaty, collectively known as the WIPO Internet Treaties, in 2018 and the Nice Agreement in 2019 were positive steps.